Nine sports make short list for inclusion in 2020 Tokyo Olympics
Baseball, softball and karate are among the short-listed sports for inclusion at the 2020 Summer Olympic Games in Tokyo, organizers announced on Monday morning in Japan.
Baseball, softball, bowling, karate, roller sports, sport climbing, squash, surfing and wushu, a Chinese martial art, are the latest sports to make the cut.
Air sports, American football, baseball-softball, bowls, bowling, bridge, chess, dance sport, floorball, flying disc, karate, korfball, netball, orienteering, polo, racquetball, roller sports, sport climbing, squash, sumo, surfing, tug-of-war, underwater, waterski and wakeboard, and wushu were the initial 26 sports that submitted applications to Tokyo 2020 organizers on June 12.
The international federations of the short-listed sports will make presentations to the Tokyo organizers in August before a final proposal may be made to the International Olympic Committee on Sept. 30. Final decisions on sports will be made in Aug. 2016 ahead of the 2016 Summer Olympic Games in Rio de Janeiro.
Tokyo organizers can propose the addition of sports under Agenda 2020, which was passed by the IOC in Dec. 2014.
Baseball and softball, which were last contested at the 2008 Olympics, are considered early favorites to return in 2020 due in part to their popularity in Japan.
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- Christopher Chavez
