Baseball and softball officially applied for inclusion in the Tokyo 2020 Olympics on Thursday as they "look to earn back their spot in the Games they lost" after '08, according to Karolos Grohmann of REUTERS. The two sports, united under the World Baseball Softball Confederation to "boost their chances of an Olympic return, are seen as strong contenders for a place on the Tokyo Games program" with Japan one of the countries where the sports enjoy a "massive following." As part of the reforms initiated by the IOC last year, Games hosts have the chance to "bring in one or more sports popular in their country." The WBSC said that a special Tokyo 2020 panel will "evaluate the proposals submitted and will announce a shortlist of sports" on June 22 (REUTERS, 6/11).
IN CHINA: REUTERS' Ben Blanchard wrote China on Thursday "condemned pro-Tibet demonstrators who burst into a news event" with the Olympic committee bidding to host the 2022 Winter Games in Beijing, saying that they "would not shake China's resolve to host the Games." The protest on Wednesday in Lausanne, Switzerland, could be the first of many such demonstrations and be a "public-relations headache for China if Beijing wins the bid to host the event." Tibetan advocacy group Int'l Tibet Network said that three Tibetans "disrupted Beijing's presentation." Online video footage "showed one protester being dragged away by security officers as he shouted, 'Stop Beijing 2022. No more bloody Games again. IOC, don't make the same mistake again'" (REUTERS, 6/11).
