Squash To Make Olympic Debut In La 2028
KUALA LUMPUR, Oct 13 (Bernama) – After decades of trying and waiting, squash finally made its way into the Olympic Games programme for the 2028 Los Angeles (LA28) edition, the International Olympic Committee (IOC) confirmed today.
Squash (singles event), together with baseball/softball, cricket (T20), flag football and lacrosse (sixes) were the five additional sports approved by the Executive Board (EB) ahead of the IOC Session in Mumbai, India, after scrutinising the proposal from the LA28 Organising Committee.
IOC President Thomas Bach said, the inclusion of the five sports will allow the Olympic Movement to engage with new athletes and fan communities in the United States (US) and globally.
“The choice of these five new sports is in line with the American sports culture and will showcase iconic American sports to the world, while bringing international sports to the United States. These sports will make the Olympic Games LA28 unique,” he said in a statement.
The IOC said the programme of events and athlete quotas will be finalised after the 2024 Paris Olympics from July 26 to Aug 11, next year.
Squash and flag football would be making their Olympic debut, while baseball/softball, cricket and lacrosse are returning to the biggest multi-sport event.
“Squash is already included in eight other multi-sport events, with four continents represented in the world rankings top 10. The sport has enjoyed spectacular growth over the last few years, especially among young people, with an 87 percent increase in squash participation between 2015 and 2019 in the United States,” the IOC said.
Cricket with over 2.5 billion fans worldwide, was only contested in the Paris 1900 Olympics, and IOC believes the inclusion in the LA Games brings an invaluable opportunity to engage with new countries and communities.
IOC EB is also in favour of modern pentathlon and weightlifting to be included in the LA Games after leaving the sports earlier, with the condition that horse riding replaced with obstacle racing in modern pentathlon, while International Weightlifting Federation (IWF) continues effective anti-doping testings.
However, the decision on boxing is still on hold as the IOC has yet to recognize an alternative international federation after withdrawing the recognition for the International Boxing Association (IBA).
The Malaysian squash team won three gold, one silver and one bronze medal at the recently concluded 2022 Hangzhou Asian Games in China.
-- BERNAMA
