Picture Credit: Twitter
In what comes as a massive development for the growth of Olympic sports in India, the country’s Sports Minister has said that India will bid for the 2036 Olympics. Anurag Thakur has said that the Indian government will back the Indian Olympic Association’s (IOA) bid for hosting the Games and a roadmap for the same will be presented before the full members of the International Olympic Committee (IOC) next year.
As Mumbai won the bid for hosting the IOC session, it will be hosted at the state-of-the-art Jio World Centre in September 2023. And IOA will present the roadmap for hosting the 2036 Olympics in the same session. Thakur also revealed the potential city which will host the biggest sporting event - Ahmedabad as it has world-class sporting infrastructure available.
"If India can host the G20 Presidency in such a big way, I am sure the government will be able to pitch in to host the Olympics in the country along with the IOA. We all know that the slots are booked till the year 2032. But 2036 onwards, we have hopes and I am sure India will fully prepare and bid for the Olympics," Thakur was quoted saying by TOI.
Asked if India was ready to host the Olympics in 2036, Thakur said: "Yes, India is ready to positively bid for it. There is no reason for us to say 'No'. If India is putting in so much effort to promote sports, I can assure you that we will not only host the Olympics, we will host it in a big way. This is the right time to host the Games. If India is making news in every sector from manufacturing to services, then why not in the field of sports? India is looking very seriously at bidding for the 2036 Olympics."
Notably, India was previously suspended by the IOC as a future host for all sporting events after Pakistan shooters were denied visas for the shooting World Cup here in February 2019. However, the Indian government then provided a written undertaking that visas will be granted to athletes from all countries "without any prejudice to our principled positions and policies on other political matters".
