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The International Olympic Committee (IOC) President, Thomas Bach, revealed that India will not be bidding for the 2024 Olympics. Bach said that the Indian Prime Minister, Narendra Modi has ruled the bid out due to India’s lack of preparedness to host the multi-national event.
There was speculation that India were going to launch a sensational bid to host the Olympics in 9 years’ time. However, there was no official confirmation either by the South Asian nation or the IOC.
Bach expressed his surprise at the rumours surrounding India’s bid for the 2024 Olympics as he thinks that India is not ready to host an event of such magnitude yet.
He said, “We were aware of the speculation (about India's possible bid for 2024 Games). We were a bit surprised about this speculation because we thought it may be too quick for India to host a successful Olympic Games.”
Happy that India has come out of suspension: Bach
The Indian Olympic Association (IOA) had been suspended by the IOC at the end of 2012 on the basis of corruption, government interference, and not following guidelines of the IOC. However, the suspension was revoked 6 months later in May 2013.
The IOC President said that he was glad that India’s ban was lifted, but still felt that the IOA has to “find its feet” before thinking of hosting the Olympics.
“I am happy that India has come out of suspension last year but the IOA has to find its feet,” he opined.
Bach said that due to the ongoing speculation regarding India’s bid, the IOC checked with the Indian Prime Minister, with who they had an “excellent meeting”. He revealed that Modi confirmed that he wanted India to be well prepared and have expertise before hosting the Olympics, so it would be “difficult” to even launch a bid before the deadline date of September 15.
“So, we checked with the Prime Minister (regarding the possible bid) and he said he wants to be well prepared and have expertise before doing that. He (the PM) also considered that launching a successful bid for 2024 may be difficult,” Bach concluded.
India has never hosted the Summer or the Winter Olympics, but organized the first Asian Games in 1951 and also played host in 1982. The 2010 Commonwealth Games, which was held in New Delhi, India, was surrounded with controversies regarding corruption, poor facilities and lack of preparedness.
