Japan starts petition site to keep wresting in Olympics

Tokyo: Japan today launched an online petition site with the aim of submitting 100,000 signatures to the International Olympic Committee to keep wrestling in the Olympics.

Wrestling is set to be dropped from the 2020 Olympic Games after the organisers decided to drop the game to make way for a new sport.

The website, titled "Save Olympic Wrestling", launched by Japan Wrestling Federation can be accessed in several languages.

The federation plans to submit the signatures to the IOC by its executive board meeting in May, when the IOC decides which sports to propose for the 2020 Summer Games.

Wrestling will be competing for the last of 28 spots for 2020 against the joint bid of baseball and softball, squash, karate, roller sports, wakeboarding, sport climbing and wushu.

"We won four gold medals at the 2012 London Olympics and at least one at 15 straight competitions," the JWF said in a statement on the petition site.

"The Japan Wrestling Federation is deeply disappointed by the decision to try to remove wrestling from the Olympics.

We ask everyone for their support to keep wrestling at the Olympic Games for 2020 and beyond.