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 The two sports, united under the World Baseball Softball
Confederation (WBSC) to boost their chances of an Olympic return,
are seen as strong contenders for a place on the Tokyo Games program
with Japan one of the countries where the sports enjoying a massive
following.
As part of the reforms initiated by the International Olympic
Committee last year Games hosts have the chance to bring in one or
more sports popular in their country to boost ratings and attract
greater sponsorship while also ensuring capacity crowds.
Baseball and softball last featured at the Games in Beijing in 2008
before being taken off the program.
A special Tokyo 2020 panel will evaluate the proposals submitted and
will announce a shortlist of sports on June 22, the WBSC said.
"Adding baseball and softball -- a major global team sport and
highly popular in Japan -- can help further position the Olympic
Games as the center of the sporting and cultural universe," WBSC
President Riccardo Fraccari said in a statement.
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In January, billiards and snooker launched a surprise move to take
part in the Tokyo Games while karate is also thought to be a strong
contender for inclusion.
(Reporting by Karolos Grohmann; editing by Sudipto Ganguly)
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