Jahangir for inclusion of squash in 2012 Olympics

Jahangir for inclusion of squash in 2012 Olympics

KARACHI: World Squash Federation (WSF) president and former Pakistan legend Jahangir Khan said Tuesday the body was pushing for the game to be included in the 2012 Olympics.

Jahangir, who with compatriot Jansher Khan dominated international squash in the 1980s and 1990s, said the game should replace one of the 28 existing summer Olympic sports which are due to be put to a vote later this year. “The WSF is lobbying hard for squash getting a place in the Olympics,” he told AFP. “We were disappointed when it was not included for the 2008 Beijing Olympics.”

Squash along with golf, rugby, roller-sports and karate, will vie for a possible place at the 2012 Games if any of the existing 28 Olympic sports is removed by the International Olympic Committee (IOC) on July 8. The IOC earlier this month decided that all 28 Olympic sports will face the vote in Singapore in two months time and must win a majority vote from IOC members to avoid being dropped.

The decision is opposed by some of the IOC members but if the voting comes about and any sport is axed, the IOC Executive Board will select a replacement from the five applicants. No sport has been axed from the Olympics since polo from 1936 Berlin Olympics. “I am very hopeful because some of the Olympic sports do not have any appeal for the public as well as for the television audience and I hope squash is on the verge of an Olympic place,” said Jahangir.

“Squash is played worldwide and the choice of venues in squash offers more charms than a lots of other sports to earn a place in the 2012 Olympic Games,” he said. The IOC is likely to decide in July the host city of the 2012 Olympics with London, Paris, New York, Moscow and Madrid in hot pursuit. “All those cities who are bidding to host the 2012 Games have exciting venues for squash,” said Jahangir, who has won six world and a record ten British open titles. afp