Wrestling will not be dropped from European Games in Baku

FILA President Nenad Lalovic said that wrestling will not be removed from the program of European Games in Baku in 2015, Trend reports.

The International Olympic Committee considered removing wrestling from the program in early 2013. It was not approved for the Olympic Games of 2020 and competes with seven other kinds of sports.

Early this week, Dagestani acting Leader Ramazan Abdulatipov sent a letter to President of the Russian Olympic Committee Alexander Zhukov to prevent exclusion of wrestling from the Summer Olympic Games of 2020.

FILA ex-President Raphael Martinetti wanted to exclude wrestling. FILA executive director Rich Bender said that Martinetti’s resignation gave chances to improve the situation. US ex-Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld wanted to wrestle in his 80s for the right of the sports to stay in the program.

The games in Baku will include men’s and women’s freestyle and Greco-Roman wrestling in Rio-de-Janeiro in 2016. The program was approved by the European Olympic Committee in December 2012 and will include 18 types of sports.

Azerbaijani Minister for Youth and Sports Azad Ragimov said that wrestling will be the main site of the games in Baku. He said that FILA made another step towards success at the sports program of 2015.

Adapted from: Vestnik Kavkaza