‘India wants to host 2032 Olympics, 2030 Asian Games’

MUMBAI: India’s Olympic Association has asked the government for permission to bid for the 2032 Olympics and 2030 Asian Games as part of a drive to put the country at the heart of the international sporting community, IOA President N Ramachandran has told Reuters.

Ramachandran said the IOA also wanted India to host the Asian Beach Games in 2020, the Olympic Council of Asia’s general assembly that year, and the International Olympic Committee session in 2021.

The aim, Ramachandran said, was to use the engagement as a catalyst for the growth of Olympic sports in India and to help improve the country’s miserable standing in pretty much every sport apart from cricket.

As the world’s second most populous nation after China, Ramachandran said it was time for India to follow its powerful neighbour in showcasing its burgeoning economic muscle through sport.

Dismissing concerns about whether India can afford to stage such huge sporting spectacles, Ramachandran said the country have the means.

It was up to the government to set the wheels in motion, he told Reuters in an interview.

“From my part, I am telling them if you bid, I will make sure you get it,” he added.

Ramachandran said he had spoken about India’s prospects of hosting an Olympics with IOC President Thomas Bach, an indication of the early groundwork required for a serious bid.

“You cannot take a decision today and say, ‘I want to host an Olympic Games tomorrow.’ It is an eight-year process. So you have to start now,” Ramachandran said.

“If you are looking at anything it’s 2032. That will give you 10 years to improve the infrastructure and you will have a decision (to make) in the next four to six years.”

The Indian government had agreed to discuss the proposals in cabinet, Ramachandran added. Winning the hosting rights for an Olympic Games is not the hot ticket it once was.

Los Angeles and Paris are the only candidates left in the race for the 2024 Olympics after four other cities pulled out over cost concerns.

The IOC will award both the 2024 and 2028 Summer Games at the same time and the expectation is that the two cities will host one each.

For the 2022 Winter Games, four of six bidders pulled out citing high costs or lack of support, leaving Beijing to beat Almaty in the final vote.