Wrestling has been dropped as a sport from the 2020 Games by the International Olympic Committee's executive board, it has been announced.

A meeting of the IOC's ruling committee today looked at a number of sports with modern pentathlon viewed as being most at risk but the 15-strong board chose to drop wrestling.

It will now have to vie with other sports including baseball/softball, squash and karate to be added back into the programme when the full IOC session meets in September.

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IOC communications director Mark Adams told a news conference in Lausanne: "The executive board recommended that wrestling not be included on the list of 25 core sports and it now joins shortlisted sports vying for inclusion on the 2020 Olympics programme as an additional sport."

Adams said the vote by the executive board had been done by secret ballot, and that IOC president Jacques Rogge had not taken part.

He added: "This is not what's wrong with wrestling, it's what's right about the other 25 core sports.

"This process is about looking to renew the Olympic Games and the executive board made their decision based on their experience.

"They have a collective intelligence there with representatives from many sports, national Olympic committees and international federations and they came to that decision."

The executive board studied a report from the IOC's programme commission which assessed each of the sports at last summer's London Games.

Taekwondo was also viewed as being possibly at risk with the report looking into more than 30 separate areas, including TV ratings, ticket sales, anti-doping and global popularity.

Wrestling will be one of eight sports now who will have to campaign for inclusion when the IOC session meets in Buenos Aires in September. Baseball/softball - the last sport dropped from the programme back in 2008 - is viewed as a front runner while squash has also been running a high-profile campaign.

The other sports pushing for inclusion are roller sports, sport climbing, wakeboarding and wushu. Golf and rugby sevens will be part of the programme for the 2016 Games in Rio de Janeiro after winning inclusion in 2010.

PA