Baseball and Softball Excluded

Baseball and softball have been voted off the 2012 London Olympics.

The two sports failed to win a majority of votes in a ballot of members, at a meeting of the International Olympic Committee in Singapore, and became the first sports to be axed from the Games since polo in 1936.

Their ejection allows two other sports eg golf, squash, karate, rugby sevens and roller sports to be added.

Softball federation chief Don Porter said:

"This is payback for Mexico City..They wanted us out in 2002. It has taken them three years but they have got us...We didn't expect this at all. The discussions we have had all week led us to believe we were safe to assume the program would remain unchanged for 2012...I don't want to say it's an anti-U.S. thing, but they are two native American sports."

Baseball federation president Aldo Notari said:

"The problem with baseball is that the best players are not going to the Olympics Games...But baseball is still in Beijing. It is still necessary to work for the future in 2016...Needless to say, these sports will be disappointed..But this does not disqualify them for ever...Olympic sports they are in Beijing, and Olympic sports they will remain. As such they will remain eligible for the Olympic program after 2012."