"The news from the IOC is extremely disappointing," British Wrestling chief executive Colin Nicholson told
BBC Sport.
Modern pentathlon and taekwondo were thought to be more at risk from being removed. Field hockey was also at risk of being cut,
Reuters reports.
There is a chance wrestling may be saved and kept on the Olympic Games itinerary when the IOC meets in Buenos Aires, Argentina in September.
"This is not the end of the process. This is purely a recommendation," IOC spokesman Mark Adams told reporters after the vote.
Wrestling has been part of the modern-day
Olympic Games since they began in 1896,
The Associated Press reports.
Wrestling now joins baseball and softball which were removed from the program in 2005,
Reuters reports.
IOC spokesman Mark Adams told
The Associated Press the decision was made by "secret ballot over several rounds."
"This is a very sad day for wrestling," Samantha Murray, who won the Silver Medal for Modern Pentathlon at the 2012 Olympics in London,
tweeted Tuesday. "However, I want to thank the IOC's decision to keep #ModPen in the OG for 2020. I'm elated. Thank you."
In September, the IOC will decide whether Istanbul, Madrid, or Tokyo will host the 2020 Olympic Games.
