Mongolia's National Olympic Committee will support efforts to qualify for baseball/softball and karate competitions at Tokyo 2020 ©OCA

The Mongolia National Olympic Committee (MNOC) has vowed to back baseball/softball and karate in the country as the sports prepare for Tokyo 2020.

Both sports were added to the Tokyo 2020 sport programme last year, after the International Olympic Committee (IOC) approved proposals from Japanese organisers.

Skateboarding, sport climbing and surfing were also added to the programme.

MNOC have now pledged their support to the country's governing bodies for baseball/softball and karate.

The organisation's vice-president Ts. Damdin and secretary general J. Otgontsagaan met representatives from both federations.

After presentations, MNOC confirmed they would support the organisations by arranging for Olympic Solidarity technical courses for coaches and team support grants.

The possibility of achieving qualification in the sports for the Tokyo 2020 Olympics was among the topics discussed.

Mongolia face a tough task in attempts to qualify for baseball and softball competition ©Getty Images
Mongolia face a tough task in attempts to qualify for baseball and softball competition ©Getty Images

The country face a tough task qualifying for the six team men’s baseball and women’s softball competitions, with their national teams currently ranked at 56 and 38 respectively.

Participating in the Jakarta-Palembang 2018 Asian Games was also a topic of discussion.

Baseball/softball and karate will both be on the sport programme for the Games in Indonesia, which will take place from August 18 to September 2 next year.

The country is yet to secure a medal in either sport at the multi-sport event.