Thousands sign petition to make Yu-Gi-Oh an Olympic sport

More than 7,000 people have signed a petition calling for the popular Japanese card game Yu-Gi-Oh to become an official Olympic sport.

If you are of a certain age you’ll remember Yu-Gi-Oh as a card game or for the manga comic series that spawned an ongoing anime series and several films.

The actual game itself demands that players collect cards to make up decks of 40 or more cards which they will then use to face off against their opponents, with skill, strategy and luck being major factors. Basically, it’s a bit like Chess meets Dungeons and Dragons.

Here is a much better explanation of how it all works.

We can’t vouch for the sporting aspect of Yu-Gi-Oh but Xiran Jay Zhao, who set up the petition, clearly believes that it has enough credibility to become an Olympic sport.

Writing on Change.org, Zhao says: “It is an absolute injustice that the game of Yugioh: The Trading Card Game is not a legitimate sport in the Olympics. The playing of Yugioh requires dexterity (when drawing the cards), athleticism (when playing the cards), and endurance (when you’re in round 10 of a YCS).”

Zhao appealed to the International Olympic Committee to introduce Yu-Gi-Oh as a sport and also for the IOC to “apologise to Japan for making them go through with the 2020 Tokyo games.”

Clearly, people agree with Zhao as, at the time of writing, it is just a few signatures away from reaching its goal of 7,500 signatures. One person who signed the petition said: “This game is a legitimate sport, it’s a test of body and spirit.” Another said: “This is actually better than a lot of the Olympic events and it would be comedic to see people duel in Olympic uniforms”

Although there have been a number of new sports added to the Olympics this year – including skateboarding, climbing and surfing – we can’t see Yu-Gi-Oh making the cut as it would surely open the floodgates for all sorts of hobbies and interests trying to get into the Olympics.