Baseball will return to Olympics

South Korean baseball players parade with their national flags after defeating Cuba 3-2 in the gold medal match of the 2008 Summer Olympics at Wukesong Baseball Field in Beijing in this Aug. 23, 2008 file photo. The International Olympic Committee said Wednesday that baseball and softball would return for the Tokyo Games, to be joined by sport climbing, surfing, karate and skateboarding. / Yonhap

Sport’s return lets Koreans dream of 1 more gold in 2020

By Nam Hyun-woo

Men’s baseball and women’s softball will return to the Olympics in 2020, according to the International Olympic Committee (IOC) on Thursday, giving a chance for powerhouse South Korea to add an additional medal at the Tokyo Games.

Also at the 129th IOC Session in Rio de Janeiro, members approved the addition of four other sports ― karate, skateboarding, sports climbing and surfing ― into the 2020 program with unanimous consent, adding the approval will affect the Tokyo Games only.

Following the 2020 Games, host cities can propose adding new sports for their edition of the Games. Tokyo 2020, the Japanese Games organizing committee, submitted its proposal for the five new sports, taking baseball and softball as a combined bid, in September 2015.

In 2024, whichever city earns the right to host the Games will be able to propose their selection of sports. It can replace all or some of the five sports to be included in the 2020 program.

In accepting Tokyo’s proposal, the IOC expected the skateboarding, surfing and sports climbing events would bring the Olympics to young people as well as reflecting the urbanization of sports.

“We want to take sport to the youth,” said IOC President Thomas Bach. “Tokyo 2020’s balanced proposal fulfils all of the goals of the Olympic Agenda 2020 recommendation that allowed it. Taken together, the five sports are an innovative combination of established and emerging, youth-focused events that are popular in Japan and will add to the legacy of the Tokyo Games.”

Koreans hooraying

The decision will bring baseball to the Olympics after a 12-year hiatus. The sport was added to the Olympic program in 1992, but dropped after the 2008 Games following criticisms that not enough top players, especially those playing for Major League Baseball (MLB) teams, were participating, as MLB refused to release players.

Unlike MLB, the Korea Baseball Organization (KBO) has been keen to release players, helping the national team to clinch a bronze medal at the Sydney Games in 2000 and a gold at the Beijing Games in 2008.

South Koreans have been showing immense enthusiasm for international sporting events, especially for their favorite sports of baseball and football. Despite football having the World Cup, baseball does not have one iconic prestigious event where they can express their fanaticism. Olympic baseball was close to that but the sport was discontinued.

The World Baseball Classic (WBC) and the WBSC Premier 12 had some popularity here, but not as much as Olympic baseball, given the number of annual spectators to KBO League games set new records almost every year after the Beijing gold.

Baseball’s inclusion will also give a huge carrot for South Korean players. Medaling at the Olympics gives South Korean male athletes exemption from the country’s mandatory military service. As Premier 12 events are not subjected to this benefit and a WBC win has not exempted players since 2009, a gold at the Asian Games was the only chance for baseball players to skip a two-year interruption in their careers.

In Beijing, 14 players earned exemptions from mandatory military service. They include Los Angeles Dodgers starter Ryu Hyun-jin, Baltimore Orioles outfielder Kim Hyun-soo and Seattle Mariners first baseman Lee Dae-ho.

The question remaining for the South Koreans is whether they can make it into the 2020 Games. Only six countries will vie for medals in baseball in Tokyo, with one berth already booked by the host. Observers say qualification would be the first task for South Korea to seek a medal.

Karate and taekwondo

The decision to include karate into the 2020 program came as a “fiesta” for the devotees of the sport. “There couldn't be a better place to begin our Olympic adventure,” World Karate Federation president Antonio Espinos told Reuters after the IOC vote.

Despite their happy mood, there have been domestic reports in Korea concerning that the martial art originating from Japan may affect the presence of taekwondo in the Olympics because of lingering recognition which could cast doubt on the necessity of “similar” martial arts existing in the Olympic program.

Taekwondo’s existence has been an obstacle for karate, which sought to be included in the 2012 and 2016 Olympic programs.

Sources close to the matter say that taekwondo is already designated as a core sport at the 2020 Games, a status whose continuation in the Olympics is no longer threatened, so taekwondo’s Olympic status has no direct relation with karate. However, they added that karate may have to emulate the footstep of taekwondo to make additional appearances at the Olympics down the road.

Sports already in the program such as taekwondo and judo, as well as those those seeking a spot, such as karate, Muay Thai and even jiu jitsu, have long been fighting against this die-hard recognition.

Taekwondo made its Olympic debut as a demonstration sport at the 1988 Games in Seoul. It took 12 years for the sport to be featured as a full medal sport at the Sydney Games.

However, controversies over the judging system led to the sport almost exiting the Olympics, only managing to survive after introducing an electronic scoring system. Last year it earned core sport status at the 2020 Games.

In Tokyo, karate will have eight events with six golds up for grabs in kumite (battle) and two golds in kata (patterns of movements). About 80 practitioners are expected to participate.

Observers said should karate have medalists from diverse countries, the sport’s continuation is likely to increase.