The sport's bid for inclusion at the 2020 Games ended in disappointment in Buenos Aires last month when International Olympic Committee (IOC) members emphatically chose wrestling to be added to the programme, with squash languishing down in third place in the vote.

In comparison with 49 votes for wrestling and 24 for second placed baseball-softball, squash received just 22.

It was squash's third consecutive failure to get on to the Olympic programme, having narrowly missed out on London 2012 because they did not gain the necessary two-thirds majority at the IOC Session in Singapore in 2005 and then overlooked for Rio 2016 in favour of golf and rugby sevens at the 2009 Session in Copenhagen. 

But, during the World Squash Federation (WSF) Conference and Annual General Meeting in Christchurch, plans were laid to go ahead with a fresh attempt.

The issue was discussed openly at the conference and WSF President Narayana Ramachandran gave a clear message  he would continue to campaign and has already sought a meeting with the new IOC President Thomas Bach on the subject, it is understood.

Squash's campaign for 2020 inclusion ended in disappointment in Buenos Aires but plans are underway to bid again for 2024


"WSF President Mr Ramachandran has requested a meeting with IOC President Thomas Bach to help us determine our position," WSF chief executive Andrew Shelley told insidethegames.

Shelley added that they would like to wait until this meeting takes place before commenting further and that "it would not be appropriate to elaborate at this time."

A lengthier overview of the discussions at the Conference was provided by the chief executive of Squash New Zealand Jim O'Grady who confirmed to the Waikato Times the issue was "discussed openly both at the conference and at the AGM".

He added: "I would have taken from the meeting that there was still support for the process to carry on, there was certainly no discussion about just giving up and not having another go."

It remains unclear whether an additional sport will be up for inclusion in 2024 or if a new sport could only be added at the expense of an existing one, as was the case for 2020.

"That's probably the biggest question, because there's a lot of debate about a change in the Olympic programme, the ability to get new sports into it, and that was one of the key aspects of the 2020 Olympics, but in fact they didn't do that at all," O'Grady said.

"So I think the IOC's got to look very closely at the structure of it's programme.

"They may be bound by the number of athletes but it doesn't mean to say that you couldn't get other sports in there and still stay within those boundaries.

"So that's where the questions will be asked and I think that's really what Ramachandran's trying to find out."

There was much positive reaction via social media to suggestions that squash will bid once again for Olympic inclusion


O'Grady, chief executive of Squash New Zealand since 2009, also claimed the 2020 bid has helped to boost the sport and suggested that this may have contributed to the enthusiasm towards bidding again.

"The professional men's and women's associations, they're far more engaged with world squash now than perhaps they have ever been," he said.

"So there's a lot of good things that have happened and I think we need to capitalise on it.

"I think you need a goal to strive for." 

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