Wrestling eliminated from 2020 Olympic core sports programme

The International Olympic Committee (IOC) executive board (EB) meeting decided on Tuesday to remove wrestling from the core sports group of the 2020 Olympics.

"The EB recommended that wrestling, governed by the International Federation of Associated Wrestling Styles (FILA), not be included on the list of core sports," said a statement read out by IOC spokesman Mark Adams.

Adams stressed that EB's decision is a recommendation and the final decision is up to the 125th IOC session, to be held on Sept. 7 to 10 in Buenos Aires, capital of Argentina.

"This is not the end of the process," he said.

He didn't make direct explanation for "why wrestling?". He said the decision made by the EB is about what works best for the Games.

"This is not a case of what's wrong with wrestling, It is what's right with the 25 core sports," he told reporters, adding that the process which lated for more than one year is "extremely comprehensive".

Wrestling, contested in the first modern Olympics in 1896, will automatically become a candidate sport, joining the other seven candidates, including wushu, softball and baseball, karate and squash, to compete for one place in the 2020 Games.

They will make presentations to the IOC EB at its meeting in May in St. Petersburg of Russia. The EB will select which of the eight sports to recommend to the 125th IOC session for inclusion as an additional sport on the 2020 programme, said the statement.

Both the 25 core sports, as a whole, and one possible additional new sport proposed by the EB will be voted by the IOC session in September.

Golf and rugby sevens were added in 2009 as additional sports to the 2016 Olympic programme and will rest for the 2020 Games.

The composition of the programme has been evaluated by the Olympic Programme Commission according to 39 criteria which fall into nine categories, including governance, history and tradition, university, popularity and finance.