There is a possibility that baseball, which disappeared from the Olympic stage, will be revived at the 2028 LA Olympics.안전놀이터
The International Olympic Committee (IOC) announced on the 10th (Korean time), “The 2028 LA Olympic Organizing Committee proposed five sports, including baseball, softball, cricket, flag football, lacrosse, and squash, as official Olympic sports, and is awaiting IOC approval.” “He said.
He continued, “The IOC Olympic Program Committee will discuss the proposal of the 2028 LA Olympic Organizing Committee and deliver a recommendation to the IOC Executive Board (EB). If this recommendation is accepted, the IOC Executive Board will hold an event from October 15 to 17. “We plan to submit the proposal to the 141st IOC General Assembly in Mumbai, India,” he said. The IOC added, “If additional events are approved, the final event program and number of athlete quotas will be finalized in the future.”
As the adoption of an official sport is generally largely influenced by the host country, there is a possibility that we will see baseball again at the 2028 LA Olympics. Baseball, which became a demonstration sport at the 1984 LA Olympics and the 1988 Seoul Olympics, was promoted to an official sport at the 1992 Barcelona Games and appeared on the Olympic stage until the 2008 Beijing Games.
However, in the 2012 London and 2016 Rio de Janeiro competitions, it was excluded from the official list, much to the disappointment of baseball fans. Afterwards, at the 2020 Tokyo Olympics held in 2021, baseball succeeded in being revived as an official sport due to the influence of the host country, Japan, but it disappeared again at the upcoming 2024 Paris Olympics. Considering past cases, it seems very likely that baseball will be revived in the LA tournament held in the United States, which has the Major League, the world’s largest professional baseball league.
For Korean baseball, which is currently undergoing a generational change, the revival of baseball at the 2028 LA Olympics could be a good motivation. Korean baseball, which had the legend of winning all nine games at the 2008 Beijing Olympics, suffered the humiliation of no medals with 3 wins and 4 losses at the 2020 Tokyo Olympics, where baseball was revived in 2021. Following this, Korean baseball received a shocking report card of being eliminated in the first round at the World Baseball Classic (WBC) held in March of this year, spurring a generational change.
At the recently concluded 2022 Hangzhou Asian Games, Korea lost once (0-4) to Taiwan in the group stage, but avenged itself 2-0 in the final and won the gold medal. Through this Asian Games, Korea gained confidence and valuable experience that young players in their early 20s can perform on the international stage.
If baseball is adopted as an official sport again at the 2028 LA Olympics, Korean baseball will have a chance to make up for the humiliation of not winning a medal at the 2020 Tokyo Olympics. Korea, which has taken a step toward a generational change through the Asian Games, will increase its international competitiveness through the Asian Professional Baseball Championship (APBC) to be held in November, the Premier 12 in 2024, and the WBC in 2026, and hope to win a medal at the Olympics again in 2028. You can also draw a blueprint.