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India ready to bid for 2036 Olympics: Anurag Thakur | More sports News – Times of India


NEW DELHI: India will bid for hosting the Olympic Games in 2036. A roadmap for the same will be presented before the full members of the International Olympic Committee (IOC) during the IOC Session in Mumbai in September next year, union sports minister Anurag Thakur informed here on Tuesday.
In an exclusive interview, Thakur told TOI that the government will back the Indian Olympic Association’s (IOA) bid for hosting the Games and that Gujarat’s Ahmedabad will likely be the ‘host city’ with world-class sporting infrastructure available there. The union minister said that with India having previously hosted the 1982 Asian Games and 2010 Commonwealth Games, the next logical pit stop for the country was the Summer Olympics.
“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 said.
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.”
Thakur said the government will prepare a roadmap in consultation with the IOA to be presented during the IOC Session. “Yes, we can present the roadmap to them (IOC members) by that time (September 2023). The IOC Session is a prestigious event for India and whatever steps have to be taken to bid along with the IOA, the government will support them. It has to be a joint preparation.”
He added: “Gujarat has several times expressed interest in hosting the Olympics. They have the infrastructure — from hotels, hostels, airports and sports complexes. They are serious about the bid. It’s also part of the state government’s manifesto to host the Olympics in Gujarat.”
The state government has already started preparations to initiate an exchange with the IOC to identify venues and infrastructure which would need to be built in Ahmedabad for the hosting of the Olympics. For this purpose, a multi-sport facility named Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel Sports Enclave is being built at a cost of around Rs 4600 crore and spread across 236 acres.
Thakur was also asked about the participation of Chinese athletes in the upcoming tournaments in India in the wake of the new wave of Covid-19 in China. India will be hosting the Yonex Sunrise India Open badminton tournament (January 17-22) at the IG stadium here, followed by the IBA women’s world boxing championships (March 15-31) and Asian wrestling meet (March 28-April 2). All three events will have Chinese players in large attendance.
“If we look at the Tokyo Olympics, it was also organised during the peak of Covid-19. There will be protocols and guidelines for anyone entering India to follow. The athletes will also have to follow them. The Covid-19 protocols have already been put in place in the country,” he said.
The Pakistani athletes, too, will be coming to participate at the boxing Worlds and the wrestling meet. Recently, Pakistan’s visually-impaired cricket team was denied visa for the T20 Blind World Cup in India owing to diplomatic tensions between the two countries. “For bilateral, there might be some challenges. But for a multi-national event, the teams have been allowed to participate because it’s the international body which grants you the hosting rights. You have to host every team irrespective of nationality,” Thakur added.
India was previously suspended by the IOC as a future host for all sporting events after Pakistan shooters were denied visa for the shooting World Cup here in February 2019. Later, the Indian government provided a written undertaking to the IOC that visas will be granted to athletes from all countries “without any prejudice to our principled positions and policies on other political matters”.





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