Cricket not included in provisional list of games for 2028 Los Angeles Olympics
In what might come as a setback, the sport of cricket was not included in the provisional list of 28 games for the 2028 Olympics, which will be held in Los Angeles. Cricket as a sport has only 12 full-time member countries, whereas 94 countries are associate members.
But then, the next edition of the Commonwealth Games will see cricket making an appearance, where the Women’s T20 competition will be held. Also, the sport of cricket has only once been included in the Olympics, and that was way back in the year 1900 when the Olympics took place in the city of Paris.
There were a lot of preparations undertaken by the International Cricket Council (ICC) to include cricket in the 2028 Olympic Games. But then, several factors such as the popularity of a sport, the relevance, the cost as well as the uniqueness of a sport are taken into consideration while determining whether a sport can make it to the Olympics, and cricket failed to make the cut.
Provisional list of sports to be submitted at the IOC session in February 2022
The list of 28 sports will now be submitted to the International Olympics Committee (IOC) for approval next year in the month of February. Meanwhile, games such as sports climbing, skateboarding, and surfing will find a place in the 2028 Olympics as well.
Apart from this, sports like basketball, tennis, badminton, archery, and athletics will continue to be played at the Olympics. However, the sports of boxing and weightlifting might face some roadblocks.
Weightlifting has been in the limelight for several corruption issues, and the International Olympics Committee (IOC) will give one and half years to the weightlifting as well as boxing federations to iron out these corruption as well as doping issues.