Rivals for 2016 make headway in Beijing

The Guardian reports that the race to be included as a new sport in the 2016 Games is moving apace behind the scenes of the current Olympics in China.

Two of squash's rivals for inclusion are currently making headway in Beijing, "pressing the flesh" of those that matter ...

Journalist Matt Scott reports that the rugby and golf authorities are making the most of their opportunities:

"Bernard Lapasset, the International Rugby Board's chairman, has been lobbying hard for the inclusion of his sport's sevens format in the Olympics. Fluent in Spanish and English, the Frenchman has used his language skills to meet about 50 of the 114 IOC members to press his case.

Rugby has been promoting itself since before London's anointment as the 2012 host city in 2005. Ty Votaw, the executive vice-president for international affairs at the PGA Tour, is heading golf's campaign for inclusion. He arrives on Saturday and will embark on a similar tour of flesh-pressing engagements."

As I've previously written, rugby sevens look to be mounting a particularly strong campaign, with a slick media operation ready to be rolled out.

The latest progress on squash's campaign can be seen at the WSF site here.