Sina Sports -- On August 4, the International Olympic Committee (IOC) approved theproposal of adding five sports to the Olympic Games Tokyo 2020, includingbaseball and softball–which will return to the Olympic arena–along with skateboardingand surfing, which are immensely popular among the youth.

The IOC votedfor the decision to accept the five sports, which also included karate andcompetitive rock climbing. The five sports were proposed by Tokyo 2020 the yearbefore and were passed unanimously by the IOC members. The additional sportswill add 18 events and 474 athletes. The Tokyo Olympics currently consists of33 sports, attracting around 11,000 athletes from across the world.

Baseball andsoftball are making a comeback to the Olympics after 16 years. After thecancellation of the two sports at the Olympic Games Beijing 2008, proposal ofrestoring them at the Olympic Games Rio 2016 was also turned down. This is thereason why the two sports will be merged into one sport at the Tokyo Olympics.

Under the newIOC rules, the host city of Olympics is allowed to propose at least oneadditional sport to be included in the Olympics it is hosting. The proposal approvedtoday will apply only to the Tokyo Olympics. “[Introducing five new sports]will make the Tokyo Olympics one of the most innovative Olympics in history,” saidJohn Coates, Vice President of the IOC.