Baseball/softball, squash, and wrestling have made the shortlist for inclusion at the 2020 Olympics, the Wednesday. In September, the sports will go before the full IOC board for a final vote on inclusion for the 2020 Games.
The three sports were chosen from a list of eight that also included karate, roller sports, sport climbing, wakeboarding, and wushu. Each sport’s international federation was given 30 minutes to present its case for inclusion before the Olympic Executive Board, and each sport was then judged on 39 criteria, including youth appeal, universality, popularity, good governance, respect for athletes, and respect for Olympic values.
Earlier this year, the IOC announced that wrestling would be dropped from the Games, marking the end of an event that had been a part of the Olympic tradition since 1896. At the time, it appeared unlikely that the sport would gain readmission.