Following the latest Squash snub by the International Olympics Committee (IOC) in February, brings about one question does the sport really need to do to gain Olympic inclusion?
The obvious answer is NO — but the snub by IOC does hurt and has left a bitter taste with the World Squash Federation & the Professional Squash Association.
Despite this, Squash can carry on being known as the healthiest sport in the world.
Getting over Olympic overlook – again
These are five solid reasons why Squash will bounce back over this Olympic setback:
- Excellent grassroots development initiatives
- Commonwealth Games inclusion
- Technological innovations – notably InteractiveSquash
- Healthiest sport for longevity
- Played all year round – outdoor Squash is fast becoming a new concept
For these reasons, prove why Squash is the only sport other than Formula 1 than does not need the Olympics Games to boost its profile.
The sport will bounce back in a big way, thus the IOC will come begging the WSF to feature in the Olympics.
Squash is still the healthiest sport
In conclusion, the only sport that doesn’t feature in the Olympics Games is Cricket – funnily enough, is another sport that is a summer sport and is attracting new nations, plus has its own series of competitions – which are on par with Squash’s major tournaments.
Interesting fact, Karate is another not featured in the Olympics Games, unlike its martial art cousins Judo and Tae Kwon Do.
In fact, the Commonwealth Games and Pan American Games are more interesting as multi-sport events.
Let us not forget when the Olympics featured football and golf at the respective 2012 and 2016 Olympics Games not even the bigger names of these sports took part.
Could it be politically driven, as to why Squash is not in the Olympics? Yes.
Either way, Squash is a well-respected sport and has a bigger fan base than the sports, which have been included in the next Olympics. In addition, Squash is becoming popular again as it tackles inclusion and is more adapted like most sports – take note of IOC.
