Syria aiming to compete at 2020 Tokyo Olympic Games

The Syrian Olympic Committee has announced plans to send athletes to the 2020 Summer Olympics in Tokyo, Japan, with a focus on wrestling, boxing, swimming and track and field.

The head of the Syrian Olympic Committee, General Mowafak Joumaa, said that intense preparations for the Games have been held since the Rio Olympics, where the country was represented by seven athletes in five different events.

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"Right after the 2016 Rio Olympics we have started preparing athletes who might compete at the 2020 Games in Tokyo,” Joumaa said, TASS reported.

“We have quite talented long-distance swimmers who could display decent results if they qualify [for the Games]. We do hope that after a long absence the Syrian football team will be represented at the Olympics for the second time in history.”

Syria made its Olympic debut in 1948 and have claimed three medals so far during 13 Olympic appearances.

The country’s sole gold was won by Ghada Shouaa in the women’s heptathlon at the 1996 summer Games in Atlanta, USA. The two other medals came from wrestler Joseph Atiyeh, who grabbed silver at the 1984 Games in Los Angeles, and boxer Nasser Al Shami, who finished third in the men’s heavyweight category at the 2004 Athens Olympics.

Earlier, Joumaa said that Syria will make efforts to develop winter sports in an attempt to make a historic appearance at the Winter Games.

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“We are planning to encourage Syrians living abroad, particularly in Europe, to participate in the Winter Olympics under the Syrian flag,” he said.

“We do not have a cold enough climate to develop these sports, but the Syrian Olympic Committee still plans to expand its work aimed at promoting winter sports [in Syria],” Joumaa added.