Despair for squash following third Olympic snub

Wrestling was last night reinstated for the 2020 Games in Tokyo – which won the hosting vote 24 hours earlier after a secret ballot in the Argentinian capital Buenos Aires.

Wrestling – one of the original disciplines at the Ancient Olympics – was actually dropped from the programme by the International Olympic Commitee’s executive board in February prompting a major reform programme within the sport.

It clearly worked as it polled 49 votes, more than the other two sports combined, squash actually coming third with 22 votes, two votes behind a combined softball-baseball bid.

Bid officials were understandably left disappointed, particularly coming on the back of failed bids for London 2012 and the next Games in Rio in 2016 – when it lost out to golf and rugby sevens.

It remains to be seen whether the sport has enough enthusiasm to pick itself up again and come back for a fourth time and attempt to gain entry to the 2024 Games.

There was a growing sense leading up to yesterday’s vote that wrestling had done enough in its reforms and was clear favourite going into the process – despite being cast out only seven months ago.

Two-time world champion and former world No 1 Matthew, 33, watched news of the failed bid unfold in Boston, USA, where he is helping out at a coaching clinic.

“The decision had a feeling of inevitability about it,” admitted Matthew. “Unfortunately, it was obvious from the outside that wrestling was going to be reinstated.

“The whole process clearly needs looking at as there was a promise to vote in a new sport which has clearly not been done.

“But squash clearly ticks all of the IOC boxes and will continue to do so.”

Harrogate’s world No 7 Jenny Duncalf, currently in the Far East preparing for the Malaysian Open, said it was difficult to understand why the sport had failed again.

“It’s hard to put into words the disapppointment we all feel,” said Duncalf. “I’ll never understand the IOC but we do have a great sport and we will continue to show the world that as we have done already without the Olympics.”

Duncalf’s England team-mate, Laura Massaro, the world No 2, added: “We will carry on learning from the bid process in the hope we can make it one day in the future.”

Nenad Lalovic, the Serbian who took over as president of the international wrestling federation in February, said: “This is the most important day in the 3,000-year history of our sport.

“We made mistakes but we decided to listen and learn and those mistakes will not happen again.”