Officials with the 2020 Olympics in Tokyo have nominated eight new events to be part of the Games, including baseball and softball, bowling, karate, and squash.
"We have chosen them based on three principles the Tokyo committee has decided," Fujio Mitarai, panel chair of the
International Olympic Committee said in a statement, according to ABC.net. The committee also said their goal is to "add value to the Games by engaging the Japanese population and new audiences worldwide.”
Other nominated events include roller sports, climbing, surfing, and martial arts.
The World Baseball Softball Confederation proposed adding men’s baseball and women’s softball to the official 2020 Tokyo Olympics list because of the sports’ popularity in Japan.
“The WBSC is hoping to highlight that adding baseball and softball to the 2020 Games in Japan — where the bat-and-ball sport is embedded in the society across both genders — will serve to optimize fan, youth and overall engagement, helping to captivate the entire Olympic host nation of Japan and
audiences worldwide,” the organization announced, according to NBC Sports.
Baseball and softball were regularly included into the Olympics from 1992 to 2008 and Japan always medaled in baseball and softball events. Both events, as well as squash, came close to being included in the 2016 Olympics. However, the IOC voted in 2013 to keep wrestling in the games instead, NBC reported.
Sports organizations are eager to see their sports make the cut.
"Needless to say we are thrilled to be included on the Tokyo 2020 shortlist," Kevin Dornberger, president of World Bowling, said, according to ABC.net.
The International Roller Sport Federation said the group is “of course excited and proud to be included in the short list for Tokyo 2020."
The original longer list also included air sports, bowls, bridge, chess, dance, flying disc, football, polo, racquetball sumo, tug, of war, water sports, and more.
Host cities can add sports to their respective Games under agenda reforms that the IOC made last December. All event proposals Tokyo wants to make must be proposed by September 30, 2015. The eight currently nominated events will be presented in Tokyo, and the IOC will make a final decision about their inclusion in August 2016.