Cricket's inclusion in 2028 Los Angeles Olympics a 'very welcome' move: IOC chief Thomas Bach

International Olympic Committee (IOC) president Thomas Bach on Monday described the inclusion of cricket in the 2028 Los Angeles Olympics as a “very welcome” move.

The IOC gave its formal approval for the inclusion of cricket as well as four other sports for the 2028 Olympics. Cricket, which will take place in the T20 format in both the men’s and women’s events, returns to the Olympics after more than a hundred years, with its only appearance at the sporting spectacle coming in Paris 1900.

Read | Cricket’s Olympic history, its comeback and impact on global growth

“Cricket has evolved very much in recent years. The most important argument is that we have seen the growing international importance of cricket. The Olympic Games wanted to incorporate the most popular sports worldwide… Therefore, this proposal was very welcome,” Bach said on the second day of the 141st IOC Annual Session in Mumbai.

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“I have not said this for the past 50 years… But we can say that there has been a great development in cricket… IOC member Nita Ambani gave advice and then we had a discussion with the organizing committee of LA and everything came together,” added Bach.

Read | Cricketers, fans overjoyed as IOC approves cricket’s inclusion for LA28

Besides cricket, baseball/softball, lacrosse (sixes), flag football and squash have been included for Los Angeles 2028. The recommendation of the Executive Board for the inclusion of the five sporting events was put to vote through a raise of hands, with only two out of 99 IOC members opposing it.

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Bach, a former fencer who had won team gold in the 1976 Montreal Olympics representing West Germany, felt the five chosen sports are a perfect fit.

“The choice of these five new sports is in line with the American sports culture and will showcase iconic American sports to the world, while bringing international sports to the United States… These sports will make the Olympic Games LA28 unique. Their inclusion will allow the Olympic Movement to engage with new athlete and fan communities in the US and globally,” said the IOC chief.

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The third and final day of the 141st IOC Session, which returns to India after four decades with Reliance Foundation Founder Chairperson Nita Ambani having played a key role in the same, takes place on Tuesday.