Wrestling to be dropped in Olympics from 2020
Wrestling, an Olympic sport since the first Games in ancient Greece, looks set to be dropped, after the International Olympic Committee voted Tuesday to remove it from 2020 onwards.
The decision by 15 IOC executive board members in Lausanne leaves the sport grappling against seven other disciplines for inclusion at the Games.
“It’s a real shock. Wrestling was not on the radar,” an IOC source said. “It was a close vote between wrestling and modern pentathlon, maybe one or two votes separating them. (But) while modern pentathlon and taekwondo did effective lobbying, wrestling thought they were safe and did none at all.”
The sport still has a slim chance of regaining its berth as all IOC members vote in Buenos Aires in September. Going against the executive committee vote is unlikely but not impossible if some IOC members vote against the decision in anger at being presented with a fait accompli.
India’s wrestling fraternity expressed shock at the International Olympic Committee’s move to drop the sport from 2020, with medal winners fearing it could halt the sport’s rising profile in India.
“I don’t see any reason why the IOC decided to drop wrestling from the 2020 Olympics. I am still finding it difficult to come to terms with the news,” said Sushil Kumar, who won a silver at the 2012 London Olympics in the 66 kg freestyle event.
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