Squash makes it to Olympics

PETALING JAYA: Squash has made it to the Olympic stage after the sport was accepted for inclusion in the 2028 edition of the Games in Los Angeles.

The LA2028 organising committee on Monday announced its proposal to include squash along with four other sports — flag football, baseball-softball, lacrosse, and cricket.

The decision was ratified at the International Olympic Committee (IOC) congress in Pune.

The World Squash Federation (WSF), US Squash and the Professional Squash Association (PSA) welcome the decision by IOC to officially select squash for inclusion in the LA28 Olympic Games sports programme.

This momentous decision provides squash’s world-class athletes the opportunity to compete on the biggest sporting stage in the world, with two medal events – men’s and women’s singles competitions.

In Malaysia’s case, newly crowned Asian Games individual champions Ng Eain Yow and S. Sivasangari will be 30 and 29 by 2028 and considered to be at the prime of their squash careers.

Eain Yow and Sivasangari should be leading the qualifying bid to play on the Olympic stage by that time.

WSF president Zena Wooldridge said: “On behalf of the entire global squash community, I would like to express my immense delight at squash’s inclusion in the LA28 Olympic Games. Squash is an amazingly dynamic, diverse and demanding sport that is perfectly suited for the Olympic Games. Everyone involved in our sport is elated to be LA28 bound and we look forward to being part of an unparalleled Olympic Games experience.”