BASEBALL and softball were joined by youth-oriented sports such as surfing and skateboarding as Japanese organizers recommended five additional sports with 18 events for the 2020 Tokyo Olympics.

    Karate and sports climbing were also on the list proposed by the Tokyo organizing committee. Bowling, squash and wushu failed to make the cut from among eight finalists.

    The recommendation will be submitted to the International Olympic Committee (IOC), which will make a final decision in Rio de Janeiro in August 2016.

    Under the “Olympic Agenda 2020” program adopted by the IOC last December, host cities are allowed to propose one or more additional sports for their games. That’s on top of the 28 sports already on the program.

    Tokyo had been generally expected to nominate one or two. By choosing five sports, organizers made sure to include those important to Japan — baseball and karate — as well as meet the IOC’s call that additional sports have a strong youth appeal.

    The proposed events would add 474 athletes to the games, a total that fits within the cap of 500 additional athletes set by the IOC. To stay within the limits, the Tokyo committee cut baseball to six teams from eight.

    (SD-Agencies)