The sports wanting to join Olympics: Snooker, darts and, yes, chess
The TelegraphCast your eye over the 32 sports taking place at the Olympics in Paris and 35 listed for Los Angeles and it becomes clear that the Olympics is now a broad church. “Each country in the world would be able to open an academy, to have sports funding for medal hopefuls,” explains Jason Ferguson, chairman of the World Professional Billiards and Snooker Association. “It would change our landscape in the UK because the funding we get for projects to develop snooker in this country is tiny compared to other sports competing in the Olympics. It is very much on our agenda and would be a game changer in my view.” A target to have snooker, classified as a precision sport by the International Olympic Committee, involved in Brisbane in 2032 is deemed as “realistic”, now that previous issues with other cue sports are closer to being resolved following the breakaway of the World Snooker Federation. Chess has been on the periphery of the Olympics since the launch of the International Chess Federation 100 years ago this year, although the governing body remains eager as ever to feature in future Olympics.
History of this topic
Should Chess Be Considered an Olympic Sport?
The HinduDiscover Related
)
