Wushu, China’s traditional sport, has officially applied to be added to the Olympic program.
China’s official news agency Xinhua, reports that Li Zhijian, President of the International Wushu Federation (IWF), recently sent a letter to IOC President Jacques Rogge asking that Wushu be included in the Olympic Games.
Li said that in the past century people with various cultural backgrounds in the world have taken fancy to the sport, which has the strong flavour of time-honoured Chinese culture. “If Wushu can join other Olympic sports in the 2008 Olympics, it will contribute to the variety of the world culture and help the Olympic Movement”, said Li.
The sport had already earned the temporary recognition of the IOC in 1999. By November 2001, the IWF has expanded to a world body with 86 member associations in all the five continents, meeting the IOC’s requirement that a candidate sport should be popular enough to be practiced in a minimum of 75 countries of at least four continents. Li said, “The IWF has been consistent in its efforts to develop the sport so that it could be added to the Olympic program”.
But the IWF could have a problem. The IOC is trying to control the size of the Games, which has grown to 28 sports and about 300 disciplines, while many other sports are knocking on the door of the Olympics.
Gilbert Felli, sports director of the IOC, said that it will be difficult for new sports to be admitted to the Olympics but the “door is not completely closed”. The IOC will make a final decision on the sports program for the 2008 Games in China at its session in November.
If the IOC turns down Li’s request, Wushu could be included as part of a cultural program at the 2008 Games.
