By Ruth Youngblood Jul 3, 2005, 13:24 GMT
Singapore - Champions of taekwondo, the Korean martial art of high-flying kicks and swift action, are striving to save the sport from the Olympic axe with a zeal comparable to the five cities bidding to host the 2012 Games.
Delegations from Paris, London, Madrid, Moscow and New York are closeted in hotel rooms polishing their presentations to be delivered before the International Olympic Committee (IOC) chooses a host on Wednesday.
The spotlight then switches to the current 28 sports and the ones most threatened with elimination - taekwondo, modern pentathlon, baseball and softball.
Any sport that does not get at least 51 per cent of the votes will be chopped. If one or more is dropped, the IOC's executive board will decide which of the five on the waiting list should be considered for admission.
Golf, karate, squash, seven-a-side rugby and roller sports have been shortlisted for inclusion. A new sport needs at least two-thirds of the vote.
"The programme must not remain static," said IOC member Craig Reedie, chairman of the British Olympic Association.
Reedie feels this session is too soon to vote on such key issues and should be limited to a review of all 28 sports, but he acknowledged that members are influence by how popular the new sports are in their countries.
Taekwondo, which made its debut as a medal sport at the 2000 Sydney Olympics, has nearly 60 million practitioners around the world.
World Taekwondo Federation President Choue Chung Won, fond of calling the discipline "Korea's gift to the world", launched a worldwide campaign last month to garner enough numbers to carry the sport through the IOC vote.
A report by the Olympic Programme Commission cited the lack of media attention in Athens in 2004 and low television ratings.
Much has been made of charges of judging bias. Turkish athletes staged a public protect at the World Taekwondo Championships in 2001.
It has also been tarnished by its link with Kim Un Yong, a former IOC vice president and top taekwondo official convicted of corruption.
Choue is relying on changes to clear up judging questions and make the game more interesting. Among them are the use of electronics in the pads worn by taekwondo athletes, with wiring indicating when they have been struck by a blow.
To counter criticism that taekwondo is not exciting, more points will be given to athletes who can deliver effective blows through difficult techniques. Other reforms include a shorter match time and a smaller competition mat to promote faster, more furious contact.
The sport's marketing has been neglected but will be pursued more aggressively.
"With the new rules, there will be more action, rather than just two opponents waiting for each other to make mistakes," said Lim Teong Chin, general manager of the Singapore Taekwondo Federation.
Baseball and softball have come under attack for having too narrow an international audience and costing a lot to stage. No stars from the U.S.-based Major Leagues can play because the Olympic Games occur during their regular season.
Modern pentathlon, comprising fencing, shooting, swimming, horseback riding and running, is criticized for being a throwback to the early 1900s and not modern enough.
The Olympic Charter stipulates only games "widely practised by men in at least 75 countries and on four continents, and by women in at least 40 countries and on three continents", may be included.
The choice of the host city will have a bearing on the review of games, observers noted. Rugby's hopes of inclusion may well be boosted should Paris or London win.
While considered a long shot, a New York victory could save baseball from getting the chop.
Choue predicts that the number of taekwondo participants worldwide will rise to 100 million if the sport retains its Olympic status.
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