The sports ministry in India has launched a study into the possibility of the nation bidding to host the Olympic and Paralympic Games in 2032, the Times of India reported Thursday.
The ministry’s decision is a reaction after last month the Indian Olympic Association (IOA) announced that it had reached out for government approval to organize bids for the 2032 Olympic and Paralympic Games following a separate bid for the 2030 Asian Games.
With the International Olympic Committee (IOC) last week resolving to award both the 2024 and 2028 games to Los Angeles and Paris, IOA President N. Ramachandran is quickly pushing a bid for the subsequent Games to move forward even 14 years ahead of a possible Opening Ceremony.
“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 in June.
“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.”
Ramachandran said that as the second most populous nation in the world, it was time to follow China’s example to develop and showcase its athletes.
New Delhi, the nation’s capital city, is considered the most likely Indian host city for the Games after having staged the 2010 Commonwealth Games amid construction delays and a corruption scandal.
The Times of India was told by a ministry source “We are keen on understanding where the country stands before we decide upon the future course of action. All things that go into hosting the Games will be discussed as we pose ourselves the question whether it is desirable and practical and whether we ought to consider bidding for Olympics at any point.
“Besides the implications and requirements such as resource mobilization, sports infrastructure to be built, scope of private-public partnership and athletes’ development programme as we aim for the top 10 in the medals tally, we also need to assess the uniqueness India can bring to the Olympics considering that we are the largest in terms of youth population.”
The IOC isn’t expected to select a 2032 host city until 2025, and the organization is in the process of re-tooling the bid process making it more of a consultation and partnership.
India pulled out of a possible 2024 bid two years ago after IOC President Thomas Bach and India Prime Minister Narendra Modi met and discussed the possibility. It was reported at the time that the 2010 Commonwealth Games corruption scandal was a considerable factor in the decision.
This week a 13-city plan to host the 2032 Games across the Rhine-Westphalia Region of Germany surfaced, and bids for the same Games from Brisbane in Australia and St. Petersburg in Russia have been discussed.
Bids for the 2032 Games won’t likely be accepted by the IOC before 2023.
