Wrestling will remain one of the disciplines in the Olympics after it received 49 of 95 votes cast by the International Olympic Committee (IOC) in Buenos Aires on Sunday September 8.
Baseball and squash, with only 24 and 22 votes respectively, failed to receive the necessary support, despite having strong financial support and well-known figures at the meeting.
The head of the IOC congratulated the International Wrestling Federation and said that it had made great efforts to modernize the discipline and make it worthy of staying in the Olympics.
Last winter, the committee decided that the disciplines of wrestling, squash, baseball, karate, vushu, sakte, mountain climbing and surfing had to be put to votes to determine whether they should be represented in the Olympics.
Wrestling, squash and baseball managed to survive the first stage of voting in St. Petersburg in June.
Wrestling is Iran’s national sport, and Iranian wrestlers have won numerous medals.
The IOC announced that one weight category in men’s freestyle and Greco-Roman wrestling will be dropped while two weight categories will be added to women’s wrestling starting at the 2020 Olympics in Tokyo.
