It is a cause that unites some of Wall Street’s top financiers with the presidents of Russia and Iran – the struggle to reinstate wrestling as an Olympic sport.

The International Olympic Committee unleashed hell and fury from wrestling’s numerous global outposts last month when it announced that one of the few sports that links the modern games with those of ancient Greece was likely to be dropped after the 2016 games in Brazil.

A Russian former Olympic wrestling champion returned his gold medal to the IOC in protest. In the margins of the US-Iran nuclear talks, officials expressed their mutual contempt for the IOC. And in the executive suites of Wall Street, the workplace of a sizeable number of former wrestlers, the collection tins are being rattled to fund a lobbying campaign aimed at reversing the decision.

Mike Novogratz, president of Fortress Investment Group, who wrestled at Princeton university, is spearheading the campaign to raise up to $3m. Other prominent supporters include Josh Harris of Apollo Global Management, Todd Boehly of financial services group Guggenheim, Barry Bausano of Deutsche Bank and Richard Tavoso of RBC Capital Markets. ?

Wrestling was dumped by the IOC during a review of the London Olympics. Fila, the world wrestling federation, “just didn’t take the process seriously enough”, said Mr Novogratz. ?

The IOC meets in September to ratify the sports for the 2020 games. But seven other sports are lobbying for inclusion, notably squash and karate. They are fighting for one place. ?

The uproar has soothed US-Iran relations at a sporting level. The Iranian team has accepted an invitation to a match in Times Square in May. ?