Squash Chief Vows to Innovate in Bid to Join 2020 Olympics

(ATR) World Squash Federation President N Ramachandran says he is "not scared" to change his sport to get it on to the Olympic program.

Ramachandran was speaking in London yesterday to officially launch squash’s attempt to join the roster of Olympic sports for the 2020 Games.

"We are not scared to make changes – we look forward to innovate and change the game to suit the Olympic needs," he told the media briefing.

"We have introduced a three-referee system - we have also had a look at High Definition cameras so you can see the ball clearly.

"We have also introduced video replay and experimenting with the Hawk-eye camera to see if we can improve that part of the game."

After losing out to rugby and golf in its bid to join the 2016 Olympics, squash is trying again. It is one of eight sports gunning for inclusion in the 2020 Games.

Innovation is a key word in the WSF’s campaign at the center of which is the recent introduction of a glass court.

"We are also experimenting with a glass floor – it will have LED lines clearly and will be able to show advertisements during the Games," Ramachandran explained.

He added: "We have done these innovations to ensure the new courts are not only exciting, but also TV-friendly and viewer-friendly."

The WSF chief also went into detail about how new all-glass courts would enable the host city to raise its Olympic profile and grow interest in the sport in an iconic location.

"You can put the courts anywhere you want – you can showcase the city. In Egypt you can put them in front of the Pyramids, in London you can put them in front of Buckingham Palace," he said.

With six bid cities vying to stage the 2020 Games, Ramachandran said that at some stage there would be "dialogue" with each of the bidders to discuss the possibilities for the sport in their respective locations.

He also underlined the growing popularity of squash worldwide, claiming it was played by 20 million men and women on more than 50,000 courts in 185 countries.

"We have thriving men’s and women’s professional tours - more than 500 players from 74 nations compete on the men's tour and over 350 on the women’s. Prize money is growing, as are the number of events across the world, and our global calendar would be a fantastic promotional platform for Olympic Squash. It really is an exciting time for our sport," he said.

World women’s No. 3 Madeline Perry was also at the launch to sign the ‘Player’s Pledge’ to support the Squash 2020 Olympic campaign, and she said that competing at the Olympics "would be the absolute pinnacle of any squash player’s career".

"I’ve played in numerous iconic buildings and that shows how adaptable the squash court can be. I’ve played in four Commonwealth Games for Northern Ireland and squash is actually in every multi-sport Games apart from the Olympics," she said.

"It was incredible to walk out in front of so many people representing your country at that level and I must imagine that it is like that and more for the Olympics."

Squash's campaign is being managed by Vero Communications, led by Mike Lee, the consultancy which in 2009 helped the International Rugby Federation's successful bid to get Rugby Sevens into the Rio Olympics.

"Clearly this is an opportunity for squash to grow but it’s also about what squash can bring to the Olympic Games," Lee told the briefing.

The WSF plans to showcase squash's Olympic potential ahead of the London Games at a special Open event in May at London’s O2 arena.

Squash will compete against karate, baseball, roller sports, softball, sport climbing, wakeboarding and wushu for just one spot on the 2020 Olympic program. The IOC will vote on a 2020 host city and finalise the Olympic program at the Session in Buenos Aires in September 2013.

Reported by Christian Radnedge

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