Japan shocked by IOC decision to body slam wrestling

I don't like wrestling. Additionally, I have an antipathy to baseball.

Make a petition to include the 'chabuda gaeshi'.

Very sad decision ... Wasn't wrestling part of the ancient Greece Olympics games ?!

wrestling is gone but the pentathalon, taekwondo and field hockey get to stay? that is baffling.

Not a fan of wrestling, but that sounds unfair unless that project is to create some more general fighting sport discipline where these athletes can compete. They should have got rid first of dope-cyclism, dope-running... Then the sports with 30 millionaire hobbyists in total in the world (dressage, clay fox shooting, forgot the name...).

Reminds me of the great South Park episode in which this type of wrestling is derided by the gang as not being proper "wrassling". Kind of true.

I think it's a great decision by the IOC.

We need more sports that all nations can compete equally in. I understand that it is regrettable for Japanese wrestling. However there is a good chance that Tokyo will win its Olympic bid.

It's simple really. You win some, you lose some.

Look on the bright side. There's still Judo.

They take out wrestling yet they keep a sport like equestrian. And they might even want to add squash. pffff

Political correctness gone nuts. They should get rid of the 50 yd dash instead... or curliing!

If Japan win, can't they choose to include it? I thought they could?

This was an original Olympic sport all the way back to Ancient Greece. Sad to see it go, unless they replace it with cage fighting.

get rid of Football (Soccer), basketball, Hockey (field), Handball, Volleyball, etc like they did for cricket, baseball, softball, Lacrosse and focus on the 1 on 1 or doubles that have more speed and quick turn over and other technical sports or close combat. 90+ minute field games aren't really for the Olympics and they get enough coverage every year in their own world cup events and season after season of national events. Golf and rugby shouldn't really be part of the event either which they are planning for 2016 & 2020. Why not bring in some extreme sports like downhill cycling, bmx or even in-line skating, skateboarding, kite surfing, deep sea diving, free climbing or maybe even something different like darts, snooker, billiards, bowling, etc. Something that appeals to everyone, but doesn't usually get shown on main stream tv all the time. Winter sports are much better in my onion and have continually upgraded the selection. Arial skiing is my favourite and then the half pipe snowboarding and downhill that has speed.

I hate this decision. I don't like wrestling, I think it's boring, but it has so much history.

Sports that shouldn't be at the olympics:

-Golf

-Synchronised swimming

-Water polo (unless you're from Hungary or somewhere, no-one cares!)

-Golf

-Anything horse related

-anything with guns (archery is fine, because you're pulling it yourself)

-BMX

-Golf

-Pentathlon

-Race walking

-200m (we have the 100 and 400, that should be enough)

-Oh, and golf.

Also any sport that requires a judge giving points (except for stuff like boxing). I really hate this. Gymnastics, diving, and stuff like that. Anything that basically gets points for how cool you look when you do something is silly. They should get points for doing certain things- I don't know, spins or whatever; or how fast they do them. You don't get a 2-point goal in hockey for having a smoothe and fantastic-looking slapshot.

If you do something "artistic" you're not doing sports. It's not about artistic merit.

The only thing Japan can send now is AKB to give a performence at the openings! haha

Why not bring in some extreme sports like downhill cycling, bmx or even in-line skating, skateboarding, kite surfing, deep sea diving, free climbing or maybe even something different like darts, snooker, billiards, bowling, etc. Something that appeals to everyone, but doesn't usually get shown on main stream tv all the time.

-downhill cycling: not a sport- just messing around, and BORING

-bmx: already in, not a sport- just messing around, and BORING

-in-line skating: not a sport- just messing around, and BORING

-skateboarding: not a sport- just messing around, and BORING

-kite surfing: you have to be kidding?

-deep sea diving: not a sport- just messing around, and BORING

-free climbing: not a sport- just messing around, and BORING

-darts: not a sport- just messing around, and BORING

-snooker: BORING

-billiards: BORING

-bowling: just messing around, and BORING

Extreme sports are annoying. They have their own silly little Olympics-style events, and they should stay there.

We need more sports that all nations can compete equally in. I understand that it is regrettable for Japanese wrestling. However there is a good chance that Tokyo will win its Olympic bid.

71 nations participated in wrestling at the 2012 Summer Games in London and Japan was not number one in medals.

It takes less money to train an Olympic wrestler than to train and equip sycro-swimming, which sucks imo. Get rid of it instead.

I was surprised to hear that wrestling has been ousted from the Olympic program. I checked my hometown newspaper's internet site back in Maryland and saw where the local amateur wrestling officials were stunned by the decision. Wrestling is big in my neck of the woods. I've had three cousins star in wrestling on the high school level and one of them went on to star in university wrestling. So my family is big on amateur wrestling.

I can think of other Olympic sports that could easily be axed ... but guess the IOC people have the final say over what should & shouldn't be in the Olympics. Sometimes, to my way of thinking, they make strange decisions...

I just watched something on TV about this issue, and here is a point that like it or not some Japanese think is motivating the IOC in their decision.

Go back to the 94 Games I believe it was, a Japanese swimmer in the backstroke event swan nearly 3/4's of the pool under water and won the gold medal.

Next in the Nordic combined, where the Japanese Gold medalist won, then at Nagano in the ski jump, now wrestling. With the exception of wrestling, directly following these games the rules were changed against the Japanese, at least that is how some Japanese people view it, and in a matter of speaking they are right.

Now Japan has gotten stronger at wrestling and it is being shoved aside.

Another problem is that the IOC Executive Com. has 8 members from Europe, 2 from Asia, 2 from Africa 1 from America and the problem is that it is biased towards European sports and sports that make money in the west vs their popularity in Asia. The TV ratings, sponsorship money, and "western" participation is low in comparison to other sports being considered and sports like Tae Kwon Do have their own lobbyists right on the executive committee of the IOC, wrestling does not.

It's a shame.

Unfortunately the International Olympic Committee limits the number of sporting disciplines to be featured in the Olympics. However if you read their charter it doesn't explain their reasoning behind it. But in reality an event in the Olympics must be practiced in significant percentage/ number of countries in the world in order to be included as a official sport in the Olympics. They have to draw the line somewhere otherwise every sport would want in. Another major reason is that it's expensive for the host city to put on the Olympics and each type of event that's included would further increase those costs especially if the city doesn't already have an appropriate venue to hold the event. Hence the Olympics will become business focused and the more events you have the more you have to pay for it which means involving business in a larger scale. I understand that yet I still have a lot of questions concerning this matter.

@Probie

Have to agree with everything you say, plus one more observation:

ice-hockey: just messing about and deadly, deadly BORING!!!

People are right, wrestling has been a fundamental part of the Olympics, both the ancient ones and the modern ones starting in 1896. There are many other "sports" that have been added over the years that should be removed well before wrestling. This is tantamount to starting the Olympic Torch in Pyongyang rather than Athens Greece. And the AFP writer apparently thinks amateur wresting, freestyle and greco-roman are the same as "Professional Wrestling" with the "body slam" comment.

Dressage is unspeakable. Synchronized swimming....I'm sorry but anything which requires waterproof make-up has got to go. Any sport that is kicked out while this nonsense remains in deserves to be angry.

Yep must just be the IOC being anti-Japanese! Because any decision on the world stage that Japan does not like just means the whole world in being anti-Japanese! Sarcasm intended ;p

Is it true that Full Contact Cake Decorating body slammed wrestling out of the Olympics????

I'm shocked! :-)

Typical, Japan, it's not only YOU who is 'shocked', the US, Iran, Britian (who developed frestyle wrestling in the 19th Century) and all those ex-satellite nations of the USSR are all annoyed. Personally? Not really into it. Unless it is all in wrestling.

Wrestling should have been kept. It is widely popular, not to mention one of oldest sports on this planet and also one of the original sports from the ancient Greek Olympics. I think it's becoming obvious the IOC is now immensely corrupt (just like FIFA). They even said wrestling was being kicked out because the wrestling federation thought they were safe and hence did no "lobbying" (meaning they did not bribe, not enough anyway).

Maybe PM Abe will lobby the IOC to re-instate wrestling? Anyway - whilst I find watching wrestling about as fun as being involved in a car crash - it is a sad sign of the times where traditional, old Olympic sports are axed for the likes of Golf, BMX, and possibly wakeboarding. Soon the Olympics will just be an imitation "X-Games".

Sign of the times I guess. I actually really feel for the Japanese ladies who do so well in this sport. I reckon Japanese girls should now focus on other "muscle sports" where they would possibly be successful through their muscle power - such as weightlifting, rowing etc. Sadly, maybe we have seen the last of those SECOM ads with those two ladies built like the proverbial out-house tackling the bad guys? lol

MMA should be included :)

It's a shame that wrestling is gone (at least for now) from 2020, due to its long history and the fact that it seems a whole lot more fitting in the Olympics than some other sports (or so-called sports).

rickyvee: "wrestling is gone but the pentathalon, taekwondo and field hockey get to stay? that is baffling."

Yeah, it's bizarre, but as was said in other articles related to the decision wrestling did absolutely NOTHING to try and promote itself, with the people who SHOULD have been promoting it doing just assuming it would be in there. Obviously it just didn't have anyone out there supporting it.

Speaking of which, where was Japan when the sport needed it? I realize that Japan is 'devastated' -- not over the loss of the sport but over potential gold medals -- as with baseball, but again no one was out there trying to keep it in there while other sports were doing the best they could to sell the sport and keep (or get) it in. Of course NOW everyone has an opinion and says it should be in there, but where was everyone before? Maybe this decision needs to be publicly advertised beforehand so they can get a feel for what the public wants as well. Then again, there might be the same level of apathy towards the sport.

Anyway, Japan will just have to predict a number less golds -- so maybe only predict 14 or so instead of what they usually do, and end up with maybe 2.

I do feel sorry for those who were aspiring to get there through wrestling, and in that regard what Yoshida said (and asked) about the decision is very true.

Wrestling should have been kept. It is widely popular,

Check the ratings, it is a lot of grappling and the scoring is confusing. It is not widely popular or it wouldn't be dropped. Fact is as much as Japan is strong at it, it probably shows it isn't popular cause Japan just isn't that good at sports that are popular. BUT they are getting better at soccer in a hurry. Better they spend their money on exciting popular sports like basketball, soccer, swimming e.t.c.

Better they spend their money on exciting popular sports like basketball, soccer, swimming e.t.c.

Basketball, Olympics, and Japan, somehow I don't see them for the near future, challenging for any medals in that sport.

Swimming? Japan does pretty darn well already in the Olympics in swimming both men and women's.

GOLF?? But now Greco Roman Wrestling?? You gotta be kidding me! Rugby is in too?? How many countries even play rugby, only a few European and South Africa?? Australia, NZ?? Sorry, but me thinks CORRUPTION has something to do with what the IOC is doing, against ASIAN countries that are quite good at WRESTLING!! IOC, they should be ASHAMED of themselves!!

Not only Wrestling, Boxing,Taekwodo and Judo should be banned because they are boring and bloody. Sumo, Aikido and Kendo have more fun and enjoyable.

she is really great . great sports-men-ship in her.

In addition... both Russia (2012, 11 Olympic Medals) and Iran (2012, 6 Olympic Medals) could also make argurments that the IOC is / was targeting them for various reasons. Point... it is not just Japan... in fact, I'll bet the news headlines in Iran are all about the IOC targeting them and nobody else.

DJboothFEB. 13, 2013 - 05:52PM JST Yep must just be the IOC being anti-Japanese! Because any decision on the world stage that Japan does not like >just means the whole world in being anti-Japanese! Sarcasm intended ;p

There isn't a single mention of the IOC's decision being anti-Japan. Not to mention that wreslters all over the world are shocked and angered by this news. There are countries that gain more medals from wrestling than Japan. "Wrestling Canada floored by IOC decision to remove sport from 2020 Games" http://www.theglobeandmail.com/sports/more-sports/wrestling-canada-floored-by-ioc-decision-to-remove-sport-from-2020-games/article8487206/ Therefore your commernts are nothing burt a snide swipe at Japan that your protective "sarcasm intended" doesn't hide.

Wrestling was introduced as an Olympic event in 708 BC. So much for the legacy. Why the hell have they got soccer in the Olympics when that sport already has so many international competitions (World Cup, Asian Cup, Africa Cup of Nations cup, Euro Championships, etc etc).

Come on guys, the IOC is a group of crooks who just want to get paid. They are so corrupt it is shameful and there is nothing to be done about it. I looks like someone forgot to make their payment.... go with direct deposit is much more reliable.

Follow the money....... ;-)

I am not a biggest fun of baseball but I like wrestling sport and IOC decision targeting wrestling is strange and unexplained.

Drop an ancient and well respected, if slightly underrepresented, sport and keep curling... huh

BOYCOTT THE OLYMPICS!!!

Or should I say "The OlymPukes"!!

The IOC is THE MOST CORRUPTED International Governing Body in Sports Today. There's not a Pocket Closed to any of these so called "Voting Members of the IOC". Exactly who are they? What Country(s) do they come from OR better yet: WHAT PLANET DO THEY COME FROM?

Wresting IS ONE OF THE ORIGINAL OLYMPIC SPORTS THAT STARTED SOME 2,000 YEARS AGO IN GREECE!

The Nerve of these People!

Ok - Let's Axe Table Tennis a.k.a PING PONG - Ping Pong is STUPID and nobody cares to watch it. Axe it and lets watch 1 Billion Chinese Scream Bloody Murder!

Seriously, what's left for the Summer Games? Gymnastics, Swimming, Water Polo, PING PONG and 10 Speeding?

Again - BOYCOTT THE OLYMPICS!!!

There was a good suggestion for a new Olympics event from Monty Python.

Olympic Hide-and-Seek.

One guy goes off and hides somewhere on the planet and his opponent has to find him.

I think the Olympic record was 17 and a half years.

saketown:

Again - BOYCOTT THE OLYMPICS!!!

Switch off your TV. That's my advice. The rest of us will keep watching.

I can't say as that I care about wrestling one way or the other but then again, it is a little strange to keep in some of the sports they have and to nix that one. Golf was part of the modern Olympics as far back as 1904 and equestrian, love it or hate it, goes back to the ancient Olympics.

As for whether or not the games are biased, of course they are! Look at the winners' lists and see how many medals go to teams from developing nations. Yes, Kenya and Jamaica do quite well in running but they are the exceptions rather than the rules and their success is generally limited in the sports they do well in and to sports that are relatively cheap.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/All-time_Olympic_Games_medal_table http://www.cfr.org/economics/economy-olympics/p28806

I just find all this boohoohooing about one sport being cut and how detrimental it's going to be to Japan's medal count to be pretty silly. The Olympics are inherently unfair. The majority of medals go to nations with the money to spend on their athletic programs. If you want to boycott the Olympics, by all means do it. I haven't watched the Olympics for years. I love sports but find the Olympics to be boring and embarrassing. The modern Olympics may have started out as a way to promote cross-cultural understanding but as a viewer, or non-viewer now, what I mostly see is a seriously flawed, three weeks of jingoistic, chest-beating and money wasting where the richer countries make huge medal hauls and the poorer countries mostly serve to prop up their egos.

I don't see the "body slam" here, it is more of a cheap poke to the eyes by the IOC. But don't worry I put up my hand and blocked it. Nice try IOC, but you will need to do more than that to win this match.

Seems like not only Japan, but many other countries across the world are shocked by this horrible decision:

http://www.cbc.ca/sports/story/2013/02/12/sp-wrestling-olympics-2020.html?cmp=rss

Wresting is a sport in every high school in the USA that I know of. It's inexpensive and athletes of different sizes can compete. But the IOC has long been the home of major corruption and bigotry. This just proves that they have their heads up where the sun don't shine.

TheQuestio nFeb. 14, 2013 - 04:09AM JST If you want other examples I'd cite team handball and some of the ridiculous cycling events that, while fun to watch, don't have wide audiences nor do they have the history of wrestling.

It all comes down to money. Attendance is low at wrestling events and it isn't broadcast on television due to poor viewership ratings. Wrestling just isn't a sport many people want to see. Even though attendence is low on cycling events, they get better television ratings and this increases advertising revenue.

It all comes down to money. Attendance is low at wrestling events and it isn't broadcast on television due to poor viewership ratings. Wrestling just isn't a sport many people want to see. Even though attendence is low on cycling events, they get better television ratings and this increases advertising revenue.

So don't broadcast it. That doesn't mean that it needed to be removed from the Olympics entirely, what broadcasters do should have nothing to do with how the IOC makes its decisions as to what sports to add and drop. While I was disappointed about the bumping of baseball, as I am a fan of the sport, I can recognize that it's a fairly recent addition and that it only appeals to a few countries. On the flip side I don't really watch track and field, or wrestling, but I recognize the history and storied traditions of these events.

Not only Wrestling, Boxing,Taekwodo and Judo should be banned because they are boring and bloody. Sumo, Aikido and Kendo have more fun and enjoyable.

Boxing is boring, but sumo isn't? It's 2 fat guys running into one another. Dull dull dull.

And as for Aikido and kendo. You'd have some Japanese; and a few sad-to-watch wapanese fanbois competing, and that's all.

The Olympic games are no longer about tradition and sportsmanship. Politics and economics have caused the IOC to make these decisions as to what sports to drop and which ones to keep. Welcome to the real world.

Get rid of synchronised swimming, table tennis, rythmic gymnastics and volleyball too and there might be time on NHK to show some decent sport at the next olympics. I remember when Usain Bolt was creating sporting history in Beijing, we were being subjected to some live womens volleyball quarter final crap. Wrestling at least is a sport in the true olympic spirit, however perhaps not enough people are interested in watching it.