Cricket, baseball among 5 sports added to 2028 Olympics

By Can Erozden

ANKARA (AA) – The International Olympic Committee (IOC) confirmed on Monday that five sports, including cricket, have been added to the 2028 Summer Olympics in Los Angeles.

"Baseball/softball, cricket (T20), flag football, lacrosse (sixes) and squash have been officially included as additional sports on the programme for the Olympic Games Los Angeles 2028 (LA28)," the IOC said in a statement after the decision was made during the committee's 141st session held in Mumbai, India.

Baseball/softball, cricket and lacrosse will return to the Olympics, while flag football and squash will make their Olympic debut at the 2028 Games.

The IOC said baseball/softball was last played at the Olympics in Tokyo in 2020, but cricket and lacrosse were played in the 1900s.

"The choice of these five new sports is in line with the American sports culture and will showcase iconic American sports to the world while bringing international sports to the United States. These sports will make the Olympic Games LA28 unique," IOC President Thomas Bach said.

"The IOC Session also supported the recommendations made by the IOC EB concerning the status of modern pentathlon and weightlifting, which were not part of the initial sports programme for LA28," the IOC added.

Both modern pentathlon and weightlifting were confirmed to feature at the 2028 Games.

However, the inclusion of boxing in the LA28 program is on hold.

The Summer Olympics will return to the US for the first time since Atlanta 1996.

However, Los Angeles previously hosted the games in 1932 and 1984.