https://www.telegraph.co.uk/squash/...egal-battle-olympic-snub-favour-breakdancing/
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calls for a potential legal challenge after the globally popular sport was again snubbed for the Olympics, this time in favour of breakdancing.
Briton Nick Matthew, the former world No 1, launched a blistering attack on the "cloak and dagger" process which again dashes hopes of his sport featuring at Paris 2024.
Instead, "breaking", the acrobatic style of street dance typically set to hip-hop or funk music, is now set for inclusion alongside climbing, skateboarding and surfing, which were already confirmed for Tokyo 2020. The four sports have been pencilled in by Paris 2024 organisers pending final approval from the International Olympic Committee (IOC) in 2020. The IOC has already said in a statement that it welcomed Paris 2024's efforts to reach a younger audience.
Matthew, 38, and the head of Squash England, said the announcement was a devastating blow for squash, which is played by millions of Britons every year.
Matthew told Telegraph Sport: "Can the sport take the IOC to court over past bids? All the criteria which has been laid out has been ticked. We should have been part of the Olympic movement years ago, certainly from London 2012. It's very frustrating and I don't see anything that will change differently if we carry on doing the same things. Sports are being pulled from left field now and it's all cloak and dagger [in the process]."
Explaining the decision to include breakdancing, Paris 2024 said it was an "urban, universal and popular sport with more than a million B-Boys and B-Girls in France". The local organisers must submit the recommended list to the IOC which will make a decision in December 2020, following the Tokyo Games. The four extra sports come on top of the 28 sports already on the programme.
Matthew said he would be "fully supportive" of legal grounds to complain. He added: "I'm not advocating it but at what point can a pro athlete who has been denied a chance of a gold medal which I can only see as negligence or what point can that person actually take somebody to court from being denied that chance? Why have we been denied that chance?"
Squash has been repeatedly rebuffed, despite its huge popularity in the UK. "England Squash are extremely disappointed to hear that squash looks set to miss out on inclusion in the Paris 2024 Olympic programme," said Keir Worth, chief executive of England Squash. "It is particularly heartbreaking for the talented young players from around the world that will miss out on the chance to showcase their talent, hard-work and athleticism on the biggest stage in sport."
Matthew said the IOC would owe squash an apology if it approves the proposals. "Skateboarding didn't even have a national governing body when it was chosen as an Olympic sport. It shows a massive disconnect from the IOC doing any due diligence on the actual infrastructure of the sport. It has to be made accountable. It seems like there is this criteria, it has to be the pinnacle, governed in the right manner, gender equality and good anti-doping, truly global. All these things squash has and we have improved."
"Breaking" appeared at last year's Summer Youth Olympic Games in Buenos Aires, in the form of "battles" - or duels - decided by judges, and falls under the auspices of the World Dance Sport Federations (WDSF).
The IOC and OCOG have already said the number of participating athletes will be capped at 10,500, a reduction from the Tokyo maximum, for the 2024 Games, limiting the hopes of team sports. Local organisers also suggested the need for the construction of new permanent venues would likely count against sports pushing to be included.
The IOC said: "We are pleased to see that Paris 2024’s proposal for new sports to the Olympic programme is very much in line with the reforms of Olympic Agenda 2020, which is striving to make the Olympic programme gender-balanced, more youth-focused and more urban."
The British Olympic Association did not send a team to compete at breakdancing at the recent Youth Games, but said it welcomed the addition of new sports for Paris 2024.
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