IOC axes two sports, vetoes adding new ones
IOC axes two sports, vetoes adding new ones
Moch N. Kurniawan, The Jakarta Post/Jakarta
It was a case of so close and yet so far for karate and squash on Friday when the two sports were poised for inclusion in the 2012 Olympics.
Their chance at making the world's greatest sporting event came after baseball and softball were the first sports eliminated from the Olympics since polo in 1936.
Indonesian Karate-do Federation (Forki) secretary-general Hendardji was among those celebrating the news that his sport was one of the two proposed as replacements for London.
"This is good news for karate because we've been waiting for a long time for this moment," Hendardji told The Jakarta Post.
Ultimately, the hopes were dashed, and International Olympic Committee (IOC) president Jacques Rogge's plan to bring new sports into the Olympics was left in tatters in Singapore.
It had looked liked he was going to get his way when the IOC voted in the morning to remove baseball and softball, the only all-women sport in the Olympics, Agence France-Press reported.
But his attempt to have them replaced in a secret vote collapsed when IOC members supported squash and karate but refused to give them crucial "Olympic sport" status.
Golf, rugby sevens and roller sports were the other sports seeking a Olympic place.
Becoming an Olympic sport requires a change in the Olympic Charter, which takes a two-thirds majority. The 105 voting members delivered a crushing no vote.
At the end of a roller-coaster day, the Summer Olympics has now been reduced from 28 sports to 26 beginning in 2012.
ASOIF -- the body representing the Summer Games sports -- had bitterly fought Rogge's plan, saying it would upset the balance of the Games.
Rogge urged the two sports, which will remain in the 2008 Olympics, not to lose heart. "Needless to say, these sports will be disappointed. But it doesn't disqualify them forever."
Indonesian Softball and Baseball Association (Perbasasi) secretary-general Suryo Adi Prasetyo said he was shocked to hear of the sports' removal.
"I am afraid this will influence our presence in the Asian Games and Southeast Asian Games. Now it is our duty to keep the sports in the Southeast Asian Games at the very least." Olympics -- Page 10