Indian cricket fans have even more reason to cheer as the Los Angeles 2028 Olympic Games solidify their cricket programme with both men's and women's T20 events. (More Sports News)
This landmark inclusion, announced back in October 2023 alongside four other sports, marks cricket's return to the Olympic stage for the first time since 1900 and aligns with the International Olympic Committee's (IOC) strong emphasis on gender equality.
The event programme for LA28 confirms that six teams each will compete in the men's and women's events, presenting a golden opportunity for the Indian contingent, who are fervent followers of the sport.
While superstar Virat Kohli's global appeal is cited as a contributing factor to cricket's inclusion, the focus now shifts to the potential for both the Indian men's and women's teams to vie for Olympic glory.
India's men's T20I team is the reigning World Cup champions and fresh off their gold medal triumph at the Hangzhou 2023 Asian Games. The Indian women's team is also a rising force in international cricket and will undoubtedly be among the favourites to secure a podium finish.
This inclusion of both men's and women's cricket in LA28 underscores the IOC's commitment to gender parity across all sports. Notably, the LA28 Games will achieve a historic milestone with all team sports featuring at least an equal number of women's teams as men's teams. Water polo, for instance, will add two women's teams to reach parity at 12 each. Football will even see more women's teams (16) than men's (12).
The emphasis on gender equality is evident in the overall athlete quota and event programme. Out of the initial allocation of 10,500 athletes, 5,333 were female and 5,167 were male. The addition of cricket, baseball/softball, flag football, lacrosse, and squash will bring in an extra 322 female and 376 male athletes.
Furthermore, the inclusion of six mixed events contributes to a more balanced representation, with the final programme comprising 161 women라이브 바카라 events, 165 men라이브 바카라 events, and 25 mixed events out of a total of 351 medal events.
The decision to include these new sports, including cricket, was based on requests from the International Sports Federations and aligned with the IOC's principles of ensuring the Games are gender equal, globally appealing, cost and complexity conscious, and athlete-focused. The final sports programme for LA28 now includes 31 core sports, with the addition of the five proposed by the Organizing Committee and approved by the IOC.
