NEW DELHI (AFP): India says it will bid for the 2030 Commonwealth Games, seen as part of a wider push by the cricket-mad nation to host the 2036 Olympics.
“Our preparations will go ahead,” Indian Olympic Association (IOA) president PT Usha said after a meeting on Wednesday, according to local media.
The capital New Delhi — which hosted the 2010 Commonwealth Games, an event marked by construction delays, substandard infrastructure and accusations of corruption — is being considered as host city.
Bhubaneswar in the eastern state of Odisha is another option.
But Indian media are tipping Ahmedabad, the key city in Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s home state of Gujarat.
The city is home to a 130,000-seater arena, the world’s biggest cricket stadium, named after Modi. It staged the 2023 Cricket World Cup final.
India last year submitted a formal letter of intent to the International Olympic Committee to host the 2036 Games.
India has staged World Cups for cricket and the Asian Games twice, and will co-host the Women’s World Cup cricket in September.
Nigeria and at least two other nations have reportedly expressed interest in hosting the Commonwealth Games, which struggled to find a replacement host for 2026 after the Australian state of Victoria withdrew citing costs.
Glasgow stepped in and will stage a slimmed-down version.
Following IOA approval, India has until the end of August to submit a formal bid.
The decision will be made in November in Glasgow.
India said that if it wins the bid, the Commonwealth Games would be a “full-fledged” event.
“We will have all the sports we are good at and have a chance of winning maximum medals,” said IOA executive council member Rohit Rajpal, according to the Times of India newspaper.
That would include tag-type sports such as kabaddi and kho kho, which India is pushing to be included in the Olympics.
Despite its 1.4 billion people India’s record at the Olympics is poor for a country of its size, winning only 10 gold medals in its history.
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