LAUSANNE - The International Olympic Committee (IOC) said here on Wednesday that Wushu will have a successful debut in the 2022 Dakar Youth Olympic Games.

The IOC Executive Committee confirmed to add Wushu to the sports programme of Dakar 2022. It is the first time that Wushu will be officially included in Olympic competition.

"The International Wushu Federation has 39 national federations in Africa, 120 million practitioners around the world. Wushu is popular among youth, and it has a good gender balance, so we expect that it will have a very good show in 2022." IOC spokesman Mark Adams said.

Wushu, featured on the All-Africa Youth Games programme in 2018, will include two men's and two women's events in Dakar 2022.

As the first Olympic event on the African continent, the Fourth Youth Olympic Games will be held in Dakar, Senegal from 22 October to 9 November 2022.