Great news for softball! The Olympic games in Tokyo 2020 are going to include the sport in its program. As you know, the last time softball was a part of the most prestigious sports competitions in the world, was in 2008, when Japan made the surprise of the century, winning the final match against the super favourites USA. The news has been announced by the Olympics Channel, so we can say it’s now official!
There have been 4 Olympic softball tournaments so far – from 1996 to 2008. The United States have won the first three editions of the competition. Now, the Americans will surely have the chance to fight for the gold medals again. On the other hand, the last softball Olympic champions – Japan will have the chance to defend their title as the host nation.
The other sports, which are going to be included in the program of the Olympic games in Tokyo 2020 are karate and sport climbing. Don’t know whether these sports will be successful, but softball is the most popular sport among the newly promoted sports in the Olympics program and it has proven for the period between 1996 and 2008 that it has its large audience.
“If I can still sling the rock pretty well, I would be proud if I am selected to play. I was the youngest player in the competition 8 years ago, and I would probably be the oldest in 2020. But I don’t care about it. It would be my honour if I take part in another Olympics,” Monica Abbott, who is one of the legendary American softball players, said in an interview. In 2008 Abbott was only 22 years old – the youngest player in the USA softball squad at the Olympics in Beijing. However, she won the silver medal, which is not enough for such a player. Now she is going to be more motivated, because this may be the last chance for her to play at the biggest stage!