International Olympic Committee (IOC) President Jacques Rogge said Sunday that the martial art of wushu will not become an Olympic or exhibition sport at the Beijing 2008 Summer Olympic Games.
Last week Rogge said there will be a wushu competition during the 2008 Games, but he did not clarify if the sport will be regarded as a demonstration sport like taekwondo and tennis, which were earlier demonstration sports and have now become official events at Olympic Games.
Rogge has now clarified his position saying, “we are not introducing wushu into the Olympic program. It will not be an exhibition. Not at all”. But for the Chinese organizers who have been trying hard in the past decade to persuade the IOC to accept wushu as an official Olympic event Rogge said that there will be an international wushu competition organized by the Beijing 2008 Organizing Committee.
When asked if there is any possibility for wushu to become a medal event in future Olympic Games beyond 2012 Rogge said, “no one can predict the future. I am not going to make long-term predictions on the future. But today I can tell you that we have made decision about the 2012 Games. But after 2012 we have not made decision”.
