What’s the story?
The Indian Olympic Association President N Ramachandran has suggested that the government has agreed to consider the possibility of India bidding for the 2032 Olympics hosting rights.
The President of IOA said, "The government in principle has agreed to look into the possibility of bidding for the Olympics in 2032. It is at a very preliminary stage. We need to get all the approvals.
"IOA has to make a proposal and give it to the government. That has to be agreed to by the government. Then the government has to give a sovereign guarantee. Not onlyfrom the incumbent government but also from the Leader of the Opposition. And, the Chief Minister of the State in which the chosen city is located apart from the leader of the opposition have to say yes," he said.
Ramachandran was very confident about the bidding for the Games.
"It (the process) will take at least anywhere between six to eight years. It can be done easily. If you look at today's cost, it roughly comes to about USD 12 million, out of which roughly 50 percent you get by way of revenue and funding from the IOC.
“The balance, for a country of India's size, it is not great money. (Rough) six million over eight years, shouldn't be difficult," he said.
In case you didn’t know...
India has previously hosted major sporting events such as the Asian Games in 1951 and 1982, the Cricket World Cup in 1987, 1996 and 2011 and the 2010 Commonwealth Games.
Among other major events hosted are the 2003 Afro-Asian Games, 2010 Hockey World Cup and the South Asian Games in 1987, 1995, 2013 and 2016.
India will also host the upcoming 2017 FIFA U-17 World Cup.
The heart of the matter
The hosting of the Games is only possible in cities which already have the infrastructure and need minimal additions so Mumbai, Delhi and Bangalore would be the favourites to present bids for the country. The IOA president has said that bidding for the mega-event would involve an elaborate process.
Since Ramachandran is also the head of the Tamil Nadu Olympic Association, there were questions over whether the bidding process for the host city would be fair or not.
The president, however, has quelled all rumours by saying that there is no problem in his holding the post of IOA president while being the head of TN Olympic Association citing the example of Late B Sivanthi Adityan who was president of IOA and TNOA.
What’s next?
The Olympic games are next scheduled in 2020 to be held in the Japanese capital of Tokyo.
The IOC has also unanimously approved a recommendation to award the 2024 and 2028 Olympic Games at the same time and Paris is favourite for the 2024 Games ahead of Los Angeles, but the other will get to host the 2028 Olympics.
Author’s take
It will be amazing to see the Summer Olympics being hosted in India in the future which will hopefully provide an impetus for improving sports facilities in the country. Over 200 countries participate in the Olympics and it will be a massive occasion for Indian athletes to compete with the best on a global stage.
