Int'l Wrestling Federation interim President Nenad Lalovic said that wrestling needs to "overhaul its often mystifying rules while the sport seeks to retain its Olympic status," according to Nesha Starcevic of the AP. Lalovic said that wrestling is "partly to blame" for the IOC's decision to drop the sport from 2020. He added that wrestling needs more "user-friendly rules that would benefit spectators, television and athletes." Lalovic, "If an Olympic champion of 20 years ago were to attend a wrestling tournament now, he probably could not tell what is going on. Wrestling has become a sport purely for experts. The rules have to be clearer and the sport more attractive and spectacular" (AP, 2/23).
SQUASH BID: The PTI reported cricket stars like Sachin Tendulkar and Virender Sehwag supporting squash's bid for inclusion in the 2020 Olympics "has left India's wrestling fraternity distraught." Cricketers' "open love for squash has hurt the sentiments" of Olympic medalists Sushil Kumar and Yogeshwar Dutt, who have asked the players to hold placards similar to "2020 Squash -- Back the bid", for wrestling. Kumar said, "How could they (cricketers) do this to us? We are going through a tough phase and these cricketing icons should support us in our bid to get back into the Olympic fold. Instead, they are supporting squash which is not so popular in the country" (PTI, 2/24).
