Winners: Delegates from the International Federation of Associated Wrestling Styles (Fila) delegation celebrate being reinstated by the IOC today (Picture: Getty Images)

The International Olympic Committee has announced wrestling will return to the Olympics from 2020.

Tokyo was yesterday named as host for the 2020 Summer Games, seeing off Istanbul in the second round of voting by IOC members in Buenos Aires.

Grappling with the big issues: Wrestling is back after losing its Olympic spot in February (Picture: EPA)

And today wrestling has rejoined the programme for Tokyo, beating baseball/softball and squash in the running as it landed 49 votes. Baseball/softball won 24 and squash 22.

Wrestling was favourite to win back its place in the Olympics, having been dropped after London, but was always going to face fierce competition from squash and baseball/softball, which was fronted by ex-Cuban leader Fidel Castro’s son Antonio.


The heat is on: A flame relume in the Olympic cauldron, which was used the 1964 Tokyo Games, burns after the Japanese city was awarded the 2020 Summer Olympics yesterday (Picture: Reuters)

But wrestling suffered a further setback last week when its governing body, the International Federation of Associated Wrestling Styles (Fila) , was reprimanded by the IOC for a breach of its rules.



The IOC stated Fila had been handed an official warning for engaging ‘in activities that were not in line with the Rules of Conduct for the International Federations seeking inclusion in the Olympic Programme’.

All three sports made their final presentations this afternoon before the announcement by IOC president Jacques Rogge, who steps down on Tuesday after 12 years in the role.

Home and dry: 2004 Olympic wrestling bronze medallist Lise Legrand addresses IOC members during today’s final presentations in Buenos Aires (Picture: AFP/Getty Images)

Baseball and softball, part of a joint bid, had been absent from the Olympic programme since Beijing 2008 and have since joined forces to form the World Baseball Softball Confederation in a bid to boost their chances of being re-elected.

Their campaign received good news in the wake of the announcement that Tokyo would host the Games in seven years’ time, with the sport massively popular in the Far-Eastern country.

Squash has never been an Olympic sport and this was its third failed bid to be chosen.

MORE: Squash planning to put up a fight for 2020 vision