If places at the Olympics were given out for perseverance, squash – with its three failed bids – would be a shoo-in. However, there are other sports looking to wrestle their way on to the roster.
We look at three that could feature in the future, and three whose future could falter.
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IN – Mixed Martial Arts
With skateboarding, surfing and sport-climbing joining the Olympic schedule from 2020, the IOC is clearly trying to ensure the Games remain relevant and attractive to the younger generation. Consequently, it is likely only a matter of time until an octagon with a bloodstained mat containing the famous five-ringed logo becomes part of the summer programme. MMA is often described as the fastest growing sport in the world courtesy of the Ultimate Fighting Championship, which has held events in 20 countries across five continents, including two fight nights in the UAE. It can also be compared to ancient pankration, a combat sport that mixed boxing with wrestling and was so brutal that at the Olympic Games of 564 BC a fighter was crowned champion despite being dead. Over to you, Conor McGregor.
IN – Futsal
Brazil is the spiritual home of football, so this year was the perfect Games in which to induct the sport’s fast-paced, five-a-side variant. However, alongside squash and beach football, it lost out. That does not mean its chance has passed though. While football is the most popular sport in the world, the Olympic tournament hardly compares to the Fifa World Cup or Uefa Champions League. Futsal on the other hand, is lesser known, played on an indoor court, easy to understand and features high-scoring matches that would bring increased excitement to the Games. It’s an open goal.
IN – Futvolei
You only need to walk down Copacabana to see why this embryonic hybrid sport would fit in perfectly on the Olympics schedule. Founded on the very same beach in 1965, the sport is essentially beach volleyball but with the use of hands and arms prohibited. Massively popular in Brazil and growing in popularity in Europe, United States and Asia, the UAE even hosted the 2011 World Cup. Played in pairs, it requires focus, flexibility and a lot of talent. Gender is irrelevant, anybody can play and the only equipment required is a ball and a net. And a willingness to get sand in every crevice.
OUT – Golf
Golf needs the Olympics like the Olympics needs another doping scandal. No current golfer grew up dreaming of winning a gold medal in golf and for players who have already reaped the benefits of professionalism, a lack of prize money at the Games means other events take priority. The best players have shown enough disdain for the event to warrant the sport’s immediate exclusion from 2020, but with its place already confirmed for Tokyo, it’s more likely to bid adieu in 2024 -- when “stuff that matters” will take its place.
OUT – Tennis
Much like golf, doubts have surrounded the role of tennis at the Olympics ever since its re-induction in 1988. A gold medal is supposed to be the highlight of every competitor’s career, yet for tennis players it does not stand up against the grand slams. Even the players admit it, with Sam Querrey, who beat World No1 Novak Djokovic at Wimbledon this year, saying he doesn’t “necessarily think it should be an Olympic sport”. He is not the only one.
OUT – Equestrian
If Olympic sports are supposed to throw up surprises and heartwarming stories of athletes who fought the odds to qualify, it does not appear quite right that a sport in which you must provide your own horse is included. Equestrian has a long and storied history at the Games, but if the three-week showpiece is meant to be egalitarian, the inclusion of such an elitist, niche sport must be questioned. Aside from this reasoning, the average spectator does not understand the rules and has little to no opportunity of taking up the sport as a hobby. Gallop on.
