To Rio de Janeiro we go

New Bloc Vote Retains 26 Core Sports For Rio 2016

Errol D’Cruz I TNN

Panaji: Many sports could well have heaved a collective sigh of relief on Friday, the final day of the 121st International Olympic Committee (IOC) session in Copenhagen, Denmark.

The vote on disciplines to be included at the 2016 Rio de Janeiro Olympics, chosen as host city only days before, ended without any sport being dropped.

The relief, from India’s perspective, would concern hockey, the ‘national’ sport which remains in the Games. From a global perspective, golf and rugby (sevens) made their re-entry into the quaderennial extravaganza after decades in the wilderness taking the total number of disciplines at Rio to a maximum of 28.

This time, however, the stress and anxiety that some of the federations had to endure at the last session — in Singapore 2005 — was far reduced.

The Federation Internationale de Hockey (FIH) revealed to the Times of India on Friday that the voting process was markedly different from Singapore.

Arjen Meijer, FIH communications manager, stated: “For the first time, all 26 core sports (including hockey) were voted in a bloc vote. It meant that if the vote for these 26 was negative, even sports like athletics and gymnastic wouldn’t be included in the 2016 Olympic Games.’’

Last time around, the voting for the 2012 Olympic Games took place sport-by- sport and going by accounts the tension was palpable.

Two sports got the axe for London 2012 — baseball and softball — and are very bitter about the outcome in the wake of potential devastation of the disciplines.

Hockey qualifiers for 2016

On queried about the hockey qualification system for the 2016 Games, Meijer said the format will be established in the next couple of years. As a matter of fact, he explained, the qualification system for the 2012 Olympic Games is being put under the scanner. The current exacting system which sidelined India and Argentina from the 2008 Beijing Olympics has met with criticism from various quarters.

The issue of Brazil

Not many know that Brazil have been making attempts to develop a competitive team in recent years but are light years from the top echelon. Hosts Greece were the first nation not to qualify for the Olympics as hosts (2004) after the FIH put them through a pre-qualifying series against Canada which they lost under the tutelage of former India coach Cedric D’Souza. Greece contested the issue at the CAS but lost the case.’

Meijer said, “The FIH will assist the Brazilian national federation to make their teams stronger.’’