US Ambassador to India, Eric Garcetti spoke about the inclusion of the US in the 2028 Olympics that will held in Los Angeles, US. He talked about the format of cricket and said that the US will be one of the teams featured in the event, on Monday.Cricket will make its return in the highly awaited multi-sport extravaganza after 128 years in the Los Angeles Olympics in 2028. While speaking to ANI, Mr Garcetti said, “The cricket format will probably have 6-8 teams and the US will be one of them.”LA Olympics 2028Baseball was also one of the sports that was included in the list of sports which holds a high percentage of popularity in the US fan base. While talking about the inclusion of baseball, Garcetti expressed his delight over the announcement and sent a message about not choosing between cricket and baseball but loving them both.“It is a Hollywood story. We know that the world increasingly embraces American football. It is played in Europe, we have had games here in Asia. Lacrosse is meaningful to us…It is an amazing, dynamic fast game. We love baseball and softball. My message is, you dont have to choose between cricket and baseball. You can love both of them. Squash is easy to set up in any Olympics. So, we want to see more team sports. We are going to have a record number of athletes who break every record and more athletes in LA Olympics,” Mr Garcetti said.Sports unite allVoicing concerns over the ongoing wars, Russia-Ukraine and Israel-Hamas in the world, Garcetti said that in ancient times everybody used to put down their weapons so that sports may unite them.“I think we have wars and conflicts around the world. The tradition of the Olympics was the Olympic truce, in ancient times everybody put down their weapons to have sports unite us. While unfortunately now sometimes wars do not end but for the moment, if you let the world come together. So we hope that this inspires people that peace is better than war, that participating together is better than conflict,” the US Envoy added.Cricket in OlympicsGarcetti also took to X, formerly Twitter, to say that cricket in the Olympics was due for a long time and its inclusion reflects the diversity of both countries – India and the US.“Crickets inclusion in the Olympics has been a long time coming. It also reflects the great diversity and athleticism of both of our countries. I am so glad to be in India, the cricketing capital of the world, to celebrate this landmark moment in #SportsDiplomacy! A big thank you to Nita Ambani, @M_Raj03, Casey Wasserman, @JayShah, and all the esteemed guests who joined me to celebrate the love of sports this evening. #LA28,” Mr Garcetti wrote on X.Crickets inclusion in the Olympics has been a long time coming. It also reflects the great diversity and athleticism of both of our countries. I am so glad to be in India, the cricketing capital of the world, to celebrate this landmark moment in #SportsDiplomacy! A big thank… pic.twitter.com/dgC7kOzfWf— U.S. Ambassador Eric Garcetti (@USAmbIndia) October 16, 2023The IOC session in Mumbai was inaugurated by Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Saturday. The session serves as a key meeting of the members of the International Olympic Committee (IOC). Important decisions regarding the future of the Olympic games are made at the IOC Sessions. India is hosting the IOC session for the second time after a gap of about 40 years. The IOCs 86th session was held in New Delhi in 1983.
