Legendary Pakistan squash player Jahangir Khan vowed to keep fighting for a place for his sport in the Olympics despite the failed bid to join the 2020 Tokyo Games.
The International Olympic Committee voted, on Sunday, to put wrestling back on the roster. Squash trailed in third place, winning 22 votes out of 95 cast, behind 49 for wrestling and 24 for baseball/softball.
Khan, who set a record of 10 British open titles in 1991, said he would not be deterred from fighting hard for squash.
“I have been very passionate about squash’s inclusion in the Olympics, so the decision is not only surprising but also shocking,” Khan told AFP.
“But we will not lose hope and will continue the fight.”
Khan, who won six world titles and had three stints as president of the World Squash Federation, said that this time around his sport had come the closest as yet to being inducted into the Olympics.
It has been a disappointment for squash fans. In 2005 the sport topped the vote but failed to get the required two-thirds majority. It failed again in 2009.