GANGNEUNG, South Korea, January 29 (Xinhua) -- The 2026 Dakar Youth Olympic Games may become a key step in whether wushu can enter the Olympics. In an exclusive interview with Xinhua News Agency reporters at the Winter Youth Olympic Games in Gangwon Province on the 29th, the IOC will evaluate the youth Olympic debut of wushu, and then decide whether wushu can be included in the Olympic Games.
Four years ago, the International Olympic Committee (IOC) announced that wushu would become an official sport at the Youth Olympic Games in Dakar, the first time wushu has been an official sport in the Olympic series.
We are delighted to include wushu at Dakar 2026 and Senegal, the host country of the Youth Olympic Games, will also welcome the inclusion of wushu as young people there are also very fond of wushu. "* said.
Two years later, we are looking forward to the 'Olympic debut' of wushu. After that, we will evaluate the martial arts to see how well it is internationally recognized, engaged, and more. After the evaluation, we will decide whether wushu can be included in the Olympics. ”
Wushu is entering the Dakar 2026 Youth Olympic Games (official event) and, as I said, experiments have to be carried out first. "During the [2014] Youth Olympic Games in Nanjing, we also tested wushu. In addition, we also have other martial arts competitions, which we are all keeping a close eye on. ”
The Youth Olympic Games and the Winter Youth Olympic Games have been marked as "innovative" since their inception, and many new sports and rules have been experimented with on this platform, such as skiing and mountaineering, 3x3 basketball, rock climbing, skateboarding and other emerging sports, all of which became Youth Olympic sports before becoming Olympic sports. (ENDS).