Tokyo Olympics 2020: New sport events which will be held this year in Japan

After much delay, the Tokyo Olympics is all set to commence in a few days time. This year  number of new events have made the cut in the final list. Let us have a look at some of them.

Skateboarding 

Skateboarding is an action sport that will make its debut in Tokyo after being included in the Olympic program for the first time. The sport had got a huge boost as it has already been approved to be part of the 2024 Paris Olympics. Skateboarding will have two separate events; street and park. The street event will replicate the street course, featuring stairs, ramps and rails. The athletes will be given scores on the basis of difficulty in their tricks, speed, originality and height. The park course is made in a bowl-shape, and athletes will be judged on their tricks and speed. The participants will use the inclines on the course to gather momentum.

Karate

A martial art form originated in the Ryuku dynasty in Okinawa, Karate will be joining Taekwondo and Judo in the Olympics. The Olympics will feature two forms of Karate -- Kata and Kumite. Kata is a solo form discipline in which the competitor will be given points on the basis of 7 technical criterias; stances, techniques, transitional movements, timing, correct breathing, focus and conformance. In Kumite, two competitors will face each other in a three-minute match. However, an individual will be declared as winner if they amass eight points more than their competitor at any point in the game.

Baseball/ Softball

Baseball wan inducted into the Olympic program as a medal event in 1992 Barcelona Games and remained part of the showpiece till the 2008 edition in Beijing before being dropped from the list. But being a popular sport in Japan, baseball is set to make its return to the Olympic program in the upcoming Tokyo Games. Softball, on other hand, made its debut at the Olympics as a medal event in 1996 Atlanta and was part of the Games till 2008 before being dropped from the program. But like baseball, softball will make its return for a one-off Games in Tokyo as it has been again booted out from the 2024 Paris roster. While baseball is competed among men, softball is an women only event. Both baseball and softball competitions will contested among six countries -- Australia, hosts Japan, Italy, USA, Mexico and Canada.

Sport Climbing

In the Olympics, this sport will consist of three disciplines: speed climbing, bouldering and lead climbing. In speed climbing, two athletes will attach themselves to ropes and race on a 15-meter high wall. In bouldering, the athletes won't be given ropes. Instead, they will race on a fixed route on a 4-meter high wall -- as high as they can in 4 minutes. In lead climbing, safety ropes will be used as athletes climb on a 15-metre high wall. Whoever reaches more distance wins. In the Olympics, the athletes will be given combined scores, which will form basis for their final ranking