FILA named three-time Olympic champion Saori Yoshida as a candidate Sunday to sit on a female committee that will be established as the world wrestling governing body aims to retain the sport for the 2020 Summer Games.
In an effort to modernize the sport after the International Olympic Committee's controversial elimination of wrestling from 25 core sports for the 2020 Games, FILA decided in its executive board meeting in Phuket to form a female committee and ethics panel.
FILA has also decided to work on changing the rules for the Greco-Roman style wrestling, which has gained a reputation for being unpopular because it is difficult for spectators to comprehend.
On Saturday, Raphael Martinetti was ousted as FILA president after being issued a vote of no confidence by his peers. Nenad Lalovic has taken over as acting FILA president.
FILA will also hire a consulting firm in its lobbying efforts as it attempts to build a case to make in a presentation to the IOC executive board in May in St. Petersburg, Russia. The final decision will come down at the IOC assembly in September in Buenos Aires, where the host of the 2020 Games will be decided.
Three-time Olympic champion Alexander Kareline of Russia, who joins the FILA Bureau as a special envoy, is also expected to participate in the presentation.