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Olympics: Japan disappointed at failure to reinstate 2 sports+(Japan Economic Newswire Via Thomson Dialog NewsEdge)TURIN, Italy, Feb. 9_(Kyodo) _ Japanese sports officials voiced their disappointment at the rejection of bids to reinstate baseball and softball at the 2012 Olympic Games in London. "We had disappointing results for both sports," Japanese Olympic Committee President Tsunekazu Takeda said after members of the Olympic body decided against putting the issue to a vote at an IOC session in Turin. "But the door has yet to be shut completely and I hope both sports will show the significance of their existence in the Olympic program. We'll continue our efforts to find a way to make a breakthrough on this matter," Takeda said. Baseball became an official medal sport at the 1992 Barcelona Games, while softball made its Olympic debut four years later in Atlanta. The IOC dropped them at a general assembly meeting in Singapore in July last year, making them the first sports to be cut from the Olympic program since polo in 1936. Baseball and softball are considered virtual medal certainties by the Japanese, who have won one silver and two bronzes in baseball and a silver and bronze in softball. "I'd heard that the situation was not in favor of baseball. What we have to do is keep up with our lobbying efforts believing that baseball will win readmission in the future," said Kazuo Hasegawa, secretary general of Nippon Professional Baseball. NPB commissioner Yasuchika Negoro sent a petition early this year to IOC President Jacques Rogge calling for a review of the decision, joining the action led by the International Baseball Federation. A Japanese baseball official, who spoke on condition of anonymity, said the sport's chances of making its way back to the Olympics depend on efforts by the United States. "Major league players are expected to be left out even if the United States hosts an Olympics in the future because less attention would be paid to their regular season games if they are allowed to play in an Olympics," he said. The official also pointed out that U.S. baseball officials will likely give priority to the World Baseball Classic, a newly created international tournament featuring major league players. The latest news also came as a shock to Japanese softball officials, who had hoped for softball's reinstatement after the IOC eliminated it when it failed to get a clear majority in a 52-52 vote in Singapore. "We felt that the decision might be reversed this time, although I had an uneasy feeling about the stand of European sports officials who said neither 'yes' or 'no' to our demand. We'll keep trying to get back to the Olympics in 2016," said Masanori Ozaki, secretary general of the Japan Softball Association. |