( CNN ) -- The president of wrestling 's international federation has resigned after the Olympics recommended dropping the sport from the 2020 Summer Games , the group said Saturday . Raphael Martinetti 's departure was announced in Phuket , Thailand , at a meeting of the International Federation of Associated Wrestling Styles . The official stepped down to give another leader the chance to fight the Olympics ' decision , a FILA statement said . Nanad Lalovic , a FILA official , has been chosen as acting president . The executive board of the International Olympic Committee announced its proposal on Tuesday . Opinion : Do n't drop wrestling from Olympics . `` Wrestling will now join the seven shortlisted sports -- baseball/softball , karate , roller sports , sport climbing , squash , wakeboarding and wushu ( a Chinese martial art ) -- vying for inclusion in the 2020 Olympic program as an additional sport , '' the Olympic committee said in a statement . The move sparked an international outcry and surprise . It prompted a number of the federation 's delegates at the Phuket meeting to hold Martinetti responsible for the widely unpopular decision . Martinetti is Swiss . Lalovic is Serbian . At a meeting in Russia in May , representatives from the eight sports will make presentations for inclusion in the 2020 Games . The executive board will recommend one . The final word will come in a vote at the Olympic committee 's general session in Argentina in September . The host city for the 2020 Summer Games will be chosen in September . Istanbul , Tokyo and Madrid are the finalists . The sport will be played at the 2016 Summer Olympics in Rio de Janeiro . Wrestling is seen as an iconic Olympic sport with a long tradition . It was an integral part of the ancient Olympics and has been a competition in all but one of the modern Games since their inception in 1896 , missing only the 1900 Games in Paris . There are two types of Olympic wrestling competitions -- freestyle and Greco-Roman . The governing body for the sport in the United States was so appalled at the decision that it started a Facebook page , `` Keep Wrestling in the Olympics . '' Opponents of the decision also took to Twitter , posting with the hashtag # SaveOlympicWrestling . Wrestling is a popular high school and college sport in the United States . It is immensely popular in many other countries , such as Russia , Turkey and Iran . CNN 's Brad Lendon contributed to the report .
Raphael Martinetti stepped down to give others a chance to fight for wrestling in 2020 Games . The sport has an uphill battle for inclusion in the 2020 Games . Wrestling is viewed as an iconic Olympic sport .