ST. PETERSBURG, Russia -- And now for the gold-medal match. Three months after being surprisingly booted out of the 2020 Olympics, wrestling is back in the frame and will compete against baseball-softball and squash for a spot in the games. "We had the opportunity to have a second chance to compete," international wrestling federation head Nenad Lalovic said Wednesday after the three sports made the IOC shortlist. "We took the opportunity. We won the first match but there is another one to fight." Of eight sports competing for a place on the 2020 program, five were eliminated from the race -- karate, roller sports, sport climbing, wakeboarding and the Chinese martial art of wushu. The IOC executive board decided to recommend wrestling, squash and baseball-softball to the full IOC assembly for a final decision on Sept. 8 in Buenos Aires, Argentina. Only one will get through. "We are competitors. We had seven and now we have two," said Lalovic, a Serb who has revamped the governing body FILA and led the campaign for reinstatement. "Be careful, we are good fighters." Despite a tradition dating to the ancient Olympics, wrestling was cut from the list of core sports by the IOC board in February. The decision caused an international uproar and prompted the United States, Russia, Iran and other countries to join forces in an unlikely political alliance to save the sport. Wrestling has gone through a major upheaval since the rejection. Raphael Martinetti resigned as FILA president within days of the decision and was replaced by Lalovic, who won the election as full-time leader 10 days ago. FILA has brought women and athletes into decision-making roles and enacted rule changes to make the competition more compelling. Matches will now consist of two three-minute sessions instead of three two-minute periods, and scoring will be cumulative instead of the previous best-of-three system. "Everybody understood what we have done," said Lalovic, wiping away sweat from his forehand after the decision was announced in a packed conference room. "They probably trust us that we can do more and this is the result. "But we have to do much more, and to prepare ourselves for Buenos Aires with additional arguments. These will not be sufficient in Buenos Aires." Asked whether the result showed the IOCs earlier decision was a mistake, Lalovic said: "I cant say that. Simply, I dont judge them. They are in the position to judge us." Wednesdays announcement came after the eight sports federations made 30-minute closed-door presentations to the IOC board. The board voted by secret ballot over several rounds, with a majority required for making the shortlist and low vote-getters eliminated. Wrestling showed its newfound strength by winning on the first round with eight of the 14 votes. It took baseball-softball and squash several votes before they secured enough votes for selection. "The number of this vote today doesnt have any influence on the voting in the session," Lalovic said. "It doesnt mean we have any advantage in Buenos Aires. In Buenos Aires, well have the same starting position." Baseball-softball beat karate 9-5 in a head-to-vote to win its spot on the list. Squash got through in the final round, getting eight votes to defeat wushu with four and sport climbing with two. "It was never going to be an easy decision but I feel my colleagues on the board made a good decision in selecting baseball-softball, squash and wrestling to be put forward in Buenos Aires," IOC President Jacques Rogge said in a statement. "I wish the three shortlisted sports the best of luck in the run-up to the vote in September and would like to thank the other sports for their hard work and dedication." The process has created some embarrassment for the International Olympic Committee, which was forced to row back from its previous ruling. The addition of wrestling to the mix has not gone down well with all the applicant sports and some IOC members. If wrestling wins the vote in September, that will defeat the IOCs original goal of bringing in a new sport in 2020. Mens baseball and womens softball, which have been off the program since the 2008 Beijing Games, merged into a single federation to improve their chances of getting back in. The two were cut by the IOC in 2005, the first sports dropped since polo in 1936, and failed several times to win reinstatement as individual sports. "Were just very happy that we made that shortlist and now I guess were in the seventh inning and weve got to go on to the ninth," said Don Porter, the American co-president of the World Baseball Softball Confederation. "Weve got a lot of young girls and boys out there who want to get their Olympic dreams back. "I think thats what all of us feel, that it vindicated in one sense, at least to give us another chance to try to do that." Cubas Antonio Castro, a son of Fidel Castro and a vice-president of the WBSC, was part of the delegation. The federation proposes separate baseball and softball tournaments of eight teams each, played as back-to-back six-day tournaments at a single venue. The lack of major league players has always been a disadvantage to baseballs Olympic bid. MLB commissioner Bud Selig has said the season wont be stopped to free players for the Olympics, but the federation is working to get some MLB players committed to coming. Squash is bidding for Olympic inclusion for a third time. The sport, which would join tennis and badminton as racket sports in the games, would hold singles tournaments featuring 32 male and 32 female players. Matches would be played in two glass courts. Tennis star Roger Federer is one of the sports backers. "I said to the executive board that the one big regret in my career is that I have never had the chance to compete in the Olympic Games, but I would happily trade all my seven world titles for the chance of Olympic gold," womens squash No. 1 Nicol David of Malaysia said. World Squash President N. Ramachandran said he wasnt worried by the fact it took many rounds of voting before his sport advanced to the final. "As long as youre on the shortlist, what does it matter?" he said. "Thats how I look at it. I think our chances are better than ever before. And who knows what will happen between now and September? Anything can happen." Perhaps the sport most disappointed with the result was karate, another third time bidder after losing out in 2005 and 2009. Karate, which had been considered a likely finalist, scored well with four or five votes through several rounds before eventually dropping out with two. Karate may have suffered because two other martial arts are already on the Olympic program, judo and taekwondo. CHARLOTTE, N.C. -- Hendrick Motorsports has locked down the driver and sponsor of its No. 5 car with an extension of Great Clips for driver Kasey Kahne.The two-year agreement covers the 2017 and 2018 seasons and gives Kahne 10 races of sponsorship each year. Great Clips, which has been with Hendrick Motorsports since 2012, also will be a major associate sponsor of the No. 5 team each year.Kasey has been a member of the Great Clips family for over 13 years and is a great ambassador of our brand, said Terri Miller, senior vice president of marketing and communications for Great Clips.Kahne has been with Hendrick since 2012 and has five wins and three berths in the Chase for the Sprint Cup championship. He has not made the Chase the last two years, and is currently 17th in the standings. There had been speculation that Hendrick would replace him in the No. 5, but his contract and sponsorship keeps him with the organization at least through 2018.Great Clips has believed in me throughout my career, Kahne said. Theyre a big part of the No. 5 team, and we feel like members of their team, too.---SADLER BACK IN THE CHASETwelve years after participating in his first Chase for the championship, Elliott Sadler is back in the field.This time, though, its the inaugural Chase in the Xfinity Series.Sadler is one of the 12 drivers competing in the Chase for NASCARs second-tier series title. In 2004, he was among the 10-driver field that made the original Chase. He finished ninth in the standings that season.I dont know if thats good or bad, Sadler said, unsure if it gives him any sort of edge over 11 drivers who have no playoff experience.Its not like Im a seasoned quarterback that can read the defense better than a rookie quarterback coming in. I think thats when experience plays a part, he said. I think now its just about which teeams can get their cars the fastest, what driver can get the best information and not make mistakes on the track.ddddddddddddI feel like everybody thats a part of this Chase, all 12 guys, can do just as good a job as anybody else, no matter their age or where theyre from or how many years theyve raced.---PAGENAUD-PETIT LE MANSFresh off his IndyCar championship, Simon Pagenaud has already lined up another race.Pagenaud will join Action Express Racings points-leading No. 31 Corvette at Petit Le Mans on Oct. 1. Hell joint drivers Dane Cameron and Eric Curran on the team that holds a one-point lead in the standings over fellow Action Express teammates Christian Fittipaldi and Joao Barbosa. The Fittipaldi-Barbosa lineup will be bulked for Petit Le Mans with Filipe Albuquerque.Pagenaud was a regular competitor in sports car racing from 2008 until 2010, primarily participating in the American Le Mans Series. In three years, Pagenaud had eight wins.He then transitioned to IndyCar and earned his first title on Sunday driving for Team Penske.Also getting an additional driver for Petit Le Mans will be Wayne Taylor Racing, which added Max Angelelli to the lineup of brothers Ricky and Jordan Taylor. Ryan Hunter-Reay will join Marc Goossens and Ryan Dalziel on the Visit Florida Racing Corvette lineup.Ford Chip Ganassi Racing has added a pair of IndyCar stars to its two-car lineup. Four-time champion Scott Dixon will join three-time winners Richard Westbrook and Ryan Briscoe, who are second in the standings in the No. 67 Ford Chip Ganassi Racing Ford GT.Le Mans 24-Hour GTE Pro class winners Joey Hand and Dirk Mueller will co-drive with four-time IndyCar champion Sebastien Bourdais in the No. 66 Ford GT. ' ' '