Squash stronghold Egypt celebrated on Monday the sport¡¯s inclusion into the program for the 2028 Olympics in Los Angeles, raising hopes of more gold medals in the country, but the head of the country¡¯s federation warned against excessive optimism.

Squash, cricket, flag football, lacrosse and baseball/softball were added to the program after being approved by the International Olympic Committee as it looks to tap into new global audiences.

¡°I¡¯m super happy and excited that we finally made it to the Olympics,¡± Nour El-Sherbini, ranked first in the world in women¡¯s squash, said in a video posted on Facebook. ¡°I have been always dreaming to play in the Olympics games and have finally made it. Congratulations to everyone and all the squash players and fans. See you in the Olympics.¡±

For his part, Mostafa Assal, ranked third in the world in the men¡¯s competition, wrote on Facebook: ¡°Farewell to the phrase ¡¯Squash is not an Olympic game.¡¯

¡°Thanks, God, for squash¡¯s entry into the 2028 Los Angeles Olympics.¡±

Egypt dominates squash, with five players currently in the top ten in the men¡¯s world rankings, in addition to Mohamed El-Shorbagy, an Egyptian who decided to switch allegiance to England.

Egypt also hold the top three positions in the women¡¯s rankings as well as a fourth player among the top ten.

The country¡¯s squash federation celebrated the decision to include the sport in the Olympics on its website.

But Assem Khalifa, president of the federation, said the task will not be easy.

¡°The decision makes squash an Olympic game in the 2028 edition only, and after that the existence of the game will be evaluated again,¡± he told local media. ¡°Therefore, the game must participate successfully, and its existence be proven. Then we wait for the new decision after the 2028 Olympics.

¡°We hope to achieve more than one gold medal, but this decision will certainly increase other countries¡¯ interest in the game..

¡°We would be wrong if we felt that we were guaranteed a gold medal at the Olympics. We must be extremely prepared to achieve the maximum possible.¡±