I have to say this is a bit of a shock here. This event is as old as the games and they decide to kill it off while keeping such games as Trampoline, Gymnastic Rhythmic, Synchronised Swimming. http://espn.go.com/olympics/story/_/id/8939185/ioc-drops-wrestling-2020-olympics Good that golf is being added....
The reason I put this here is because I feel it was done by political motivation. In recent games there have been issues with iran refusing to face Israel in wrestling.
Wrestling is a sport that I like to watch in the Olympics. I don't care about synchronized swimming and rhythmic gymnastics.
Not only that, wrestling is a sport that doesn't take much in order to compete in if you're a poorer country. It's also one of the original Olympic sports!
I think it is a bad joke that they are removing one of the original events from the games. That there were 344 wrestlers in the last games with 11 medal events shows that it isn't some backwater event that lacks for competitors. Removing baseball and softball made sense given that so few teams even play the game, but wrestling?? Mani, I know you have to be upset by this decsion. What is your take?
That makes sense. Let's drop one of the worlds most ancient sports from Olympics, but keep boring sports like sailing and squash, that no one gives a hoot about. This is such a horseshit thing to do.
It makes even less sense to remove it from the games given the popularity of MMA and JuJitsu in Brazil. The IOC has been a joke for quite some time, now that they are removing the oldest sport from the games and keeping other crap events like I listed above just shows how corrupt they are. Juan A. S. Jr. gets to keep his project the modern pentalthon thanks to daddy being on the IOC board.
http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/iran-blog/2013/feb/12/wrestling-dropped-olympic-games-iran-reaction This is something that the US and Iran can work together on, getting Wrestling back in the Games.
Call me a conspiracy theorist, but just as Iran becomes the dominant force in Wrestling, they drop Wrestling, an original Olympic sport, from the Olympics. I think the Iran angel has something to do with this retarded decision. I'm guessing they might reverse this decision though, as Russia and Japan have strong lobbies in IOC and they're also upset about this decision which apparently was influenced by the Brits and their commonwealth allies in IOC who want to see Rugby become an Olympic sport. On a lighter note, Iron Sheik is not happy about this either. IOC better watch out. http://www.tmz.com/2013/02/12/wwe-wrestler-iron-sheik-upset-ioc-drop-wrestling-olympics/
There is actually a strong movement already in the US to get it back in the games, plus FILA is working on it as well. http://ca.sports.yahoo.com/news/oly...being-booted-from-the-olympics-180540638.html When I first saw this I actually thought the same thing that this was a shot at Iran. And we all know how much I defend Iran around here....
Iran's hope now is for Karate or Wushu to win the bid in September. With Karate, we might be able to make up for the loss of Wrestling medals, and with Wushu, we'll probably have more medal chances than Wrestling. But Wrestling is something else and will be missed at the Olympics.
The Fertitta brothers need to come out and give $10M+ to support wrestling programs across the country. Lord knows they can afford it, and since the same bribe-laden Europansies who voted for Qatar '22 are behind this illogical nonsense, wrestling will need to stand on its own, with financial help from MMA. Abroad, maybe Iran can start sending fighters to UFC, I don't know....the modern-day equivalent of "Ping-Pong" diplomacy.
I wipe my ass with the IOC. After 2016, I will never watch any Olympics again. If a sport needed to be taken off, it was cycling. Now they come with this BS... What is next? Athletism? Or...the rest of the world create an organization apart from the IOC and do their own Olympics. The Europeans are destroying everything for greed.
http://www.calgaryherald.com/sports/Wrestling+forms+starstudded+group+fight+Olympic+elimination/7965824/story.html#ixzz2Kvfr43Jl