PSA Delighted By IOC 2020 Shortlist Announcement

News that Squash has been shortlisted by the IOC for consideration for the2020 Olympic Games has been greeted with enthusiasm by the ProfessionalSquash Association, organisers of the flourishing PSA World Tour.

"We are delighted that Squash has been included on the IOC's shortlistagain," said PSA CEO Alex Gough. "We have already been working hard on thefeedback that we were given by the IOC during the last race for inclusion.We have now filmed Squash in HD and are able to roll this out across all ofthe World Series events.

"Presentation of events is now World Class and worthy of any Olympic show.The whole squash community will be behind this bid for inclusion as squash'sathletes are amongst the fittest and most talented on the planet. Theirskills need to be showcased at the 2020 Olympics and that is what we areplanning towards."

The World Squash Federation has been leading the bid to have the sport addedto the Olympic programme. WSF President N Ramachandran, said: "We aredelighted to be given this new opportunity to be considered for inclusion inthe Olympic Sports Programme. I am confident that we will be able to showthe IOC Programme Commission, the Executive Board and wider IOC membershipthat our case has become even stronger over recent years.

"I truly believe that Squash would be a great Olympic sport. It fulfils allthe criteria for inclusion in the Games, has proven universality and growthand we have an absolute commitment from all our top athletes that an Olympicmedal would be the pinnacle of their careers. We also have high-profileworld champions, exciting world championships for men and women, massiveparticipation from juniors to masters on all continents and a healthy,thriving programme of youth development worldwide.

"Squash has benefitted from some incredibly exciting technical innovationsin recent years, including courts that can be sited in iconic settings suchas the Pyramids and New York's Grand Central Station, vastly-improvedtelevision coverage in HD with multiple camera positions, and 'superslow-mo' replays. We are not a sport that stands still. All this and thefact that Squash is a wonderful example of one-on-one sporting gladiatorialcompetition, would make it a perfect addition to the Games.

"Our campaign starts with new energy and vigour as of today and I amdelighted that we will have an opportunity to take our message to the wholeOlympic and sporting family over the next two years."

The world's leading players, led by Egypt's four-time world champion AmrShabana, recently pledged their support for the bid for Squash to become anOlympic sport by signing a declaration that An Olympic Gold Medal Would BeThe Ultimate Prize In Squash.

The PSA has 500 members from 67 countries. The 2011 PSA World Tour -boasting an anticipated prize-fund of more than three million US dollars -is led by nine PSA World Series events, including the JP Morgan Tournamentof Champions in New York, the North American Open in Virginia and the USOpen in Philadelphia; the Australian Open in Canberra; the ROWE BritishGrand Prix in Manchester; the Qatar Classic in Doha; the Hong Kong Open; theKuwait Open; and the Punj Lloyd PSA Masters in India.

For more information, contact:Howard@hhpr.co.uk

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