Smackdown

However, wrestling's fate doesn't seem to be in its hands alone. A lot will also depend on the political dynamics and also the host city for the 2020 Olympics. "If Istanbul is elected as the host city, then wrestling's chances will be boosted considering the sport is popular in Turkey. However, in case it's Tokyo then you would have something like baseball or karate," the member added. Wrestling, however, is one of the oldest sports — even featuring in the ancient Olympics — and also a core sport in the programme. In modern Olympics, it's one of the five disciplines — athletics, swimming, cycling and gymnastics being the other four — that have stood the test of time since the first edition in 1896.

Reactions have varied across the globe, with many resenting the retaining of pentathlon, while even field hockey found its critics among the US which finds it too quaint.

The FILA officials will be meeting in Phuket over the weekend to decide the future course of action. "FILA was greatly astonished by today's recommendation of the IOC Executive Board not to maintain wrestling among the 25 core sports for the 2020 Olympic Games. We will take all necessary measures to convince the IOC Executive Board and IOC members of the aberration of such decision against one of the founding sports of the ancient and modern Olympic Games. The FILA Bureau will meet in Phuket on February 16-17 and will address this issue in view of the presentation of wrestling in front of the IOC Executive Board in St-Petersburg next May," the federation said in a statement.

Start, Stop, restart

Archery: Discontinued in 1920. Returned to the Olympic core sports list in the 1972 Games held in Munich.

Baseball: Became an Olympic sport in 1992 but was dropped after the 2008 Beijing Games. Aiming to be back at the 2020 Games

... contd.

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