Squash finally gaining Olympic acceptance is reason to dance

The low point was probably 2005. It had long been the policy that no new sport could be included in an Olympics without another getting the chop.

But now, here was the moment! Baseball and softball were out – and squash had been voted top of the replacement list. The Games in question was London 2012. I celebrated – as a fan I knew that with so many British athletes at the top of world squash, here were medals for the taking.

Except… like many committees, the IOC loves doing a simple job twice.

New sports had to be ratified by a further vote. This one required a two-thirds majority from a voting community with many competing interests. No dice. London 2012 would contain no ‘new’ sports, although women would box.

After that the IOC agreed the two-thirds bar was too high, and changed it. Too late for squash.

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Or perhaps 2013 was lower. That year wrestling was dropped from Tokyo 2020. Squash and a combined baseball/softball option were suggested to replace it.

Wrestling’s fall from favour perplexed many, given it had been a core sport not just of the modern Olympics but since the inaugural Ancient Games in 708 BC. But the wrestling community needn’t have worried. Voted out in February, it was back in by September.

Squash’s bid said they would return. And finally this week the sport’s dream became a reality. On Monday, it became one of five sports added to the Olympics for LA 2028.

Of the other four, cricket’s return was greeted with the biggest celebration on social media, a testament to the size of the sport’s fanbase, such that I was amused by IOC President Thomas Bach’s homage to ‘the growing popularity of cricket’.

But he’s right to suggest the game’s fans are concentrated in specific geographical regions. It will be mad to see it in the US and I particularly can’t wait to watch the women’s game take Los Angeles. It was a highlight of the Commonwealth Games last year.

The news squash will finally be an Olympic sport made me dance. And perhaps if you had been giving it any thought, you were surprised to learn it wasn’t already. In fact, not only was it not – it never had been.

What makes that all the more bizarre is not just that the sport has poured its soul into more than 30 years of bids, but everything about squash screams Olympics.

The titanic one-on-one battles, the equality of male and female athletes, the fact the Olympics would be the pinnacle – the list goes on.

Squash’s athletes have long slogged away in dilapidated halls with flickering lightbulbs and out-of-order vending machines. When they do step into the limelight, it is in all-glass showcourts, which are effectively portable – a huge plus when you are planning such an infrastructure-rich bash.

The sheer physicality and technical intricacy of the dance between two in their glass arena echoes boxing.

That great champions like Ramy Ashour, Nicol David, Nick Matthew (pictured) and Laura Massaro never got to be Olympians still hurts, but how they have earned their chance in the glow of the world’s attention.

If you don’t believe me, here’s an idea. If you can find a court (leisure centres are usually good for this) and an even mildly interested friend, get down and have a hit. Squash is so good for beginners as the small size of the court means you won’t be picking up balls every five seconds, and even your wildest shots will be contained.

Forty-five minutes of squash packs an endorphin punch lasting days. Do one thing for me, though, if you’re an absolute beginner – ask for the dorky eye protection. And who knows, one day, you could even be an Olympian.

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