In an announcement made earlier today, the International Olympic Committee (IOC) stated that the 2020 Tokyo Olympics will undergo a major revamp in that the games will feature 15 new events as well as reduce the number of athletes that will participate.
Last year, five new sports, namely baseball/softball, karate, sport climbing, surfing, and skateboarding, were already added to the roster of sports for the Tokyo Olympics, making the sport count to 33 compared to Rio Olympics’ 28. 15 more events have been added to the previous 28 sports, a development that will add a new dynamic to the Olympics.
This comes as a step towards achieving gender equality in the Olympic games, apart from improving youth and urban appeal towards the biggest sporting event on the planet.
A statement on the official website of the Olympic Games read: "The Executive Board (EB) of the International Olympic Committee (IOC) today approved the event programme for the Olympic Games Tokyo 2020. The decision marks a key milestone in the evolution of the Olympic programme by introducing youth and urban innovations, significantly improving gender equality, and reducing the overall number of athletes hence reducing the Games’ footprint."
The decision will considerably reduce the number of participating athletes in the Tokyo Games as well as see the highest number of female participation in Olympic history. The number of mixed events in the Tokyo Games will also increase from nine in the Rio Olympics to 18.
Four new International Federations (IFs) – Canoe, Rowing, Shooting and Weightlifting – will move to gender-balanced in events for the first time. In terms of athletes, six IFs – Canoe, Judo, Rowing, Sailing, Shooting, Weightlifting – will move to gender balance for the first time. At discipline level, gender balance is achieved in BMX Racing, Mountain Bike and Freestyle Wrestling.
The increase in events will see the highest rise in Swimming, Cycling and Fencing, while the highest decrease in the quota of athletes will be effected in Athletics, Weightlifting and Wrestling.
The new events will see the introduction of Freestyle BMX and the Madison to the Cycling programme that will make that sport the third largest at the Olympics in terms of medals, with 66 up for grabs. There will also be a mixed relay in the Triathlon, a mixed 4x400 metres relay in athletics and a mixed doubles in table tennis.
With Indian women outperforming their male counterparts in last year's Rio Olympics, the measures towards gender balance in Olympics is a cause for celebration for fans of Indian sports as there will be increased opportunities to boost India's medal haul in Tokyo.
