India wants to host 2032 Olympics: IOA

MUMBAI : The Indian Olympic Association (IOA) 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, said IOA president N Ramachandran. 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 was one of the few in the region which had the means to host the sporting extravaganza. It’s was up to the government to set the wheels in motion, he said. “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.