India will definitely pitch for 2032 Olympics, says Narinder Batra
Indian Olympic Association president Narinder Batra said that the nation will step up its battle to win the 2032 Olympic Games and other international events when the global coronavirus pandemic eases. Ten years after hosting the Commonwealth Games, the IOA chief said India had lessons to learn but would not be deterred. Here's more on the same.
"We are serious and definitely pitching for the 2026 Youth Olympic Games and the 2032 Olympics," Batra said as per a report in AFP. As far the 2026 Youth Olympics is concerned, the nation has already written expressions of interest to the International Olympic Committee (IOC) but faces reported competition from the likes of Thailand, Russia and Colombia.
As per reports, Queensland in Australia, Shanghai and a potential joint bid between Seoul and Pyongyang are also being touted for the 2032 Olympics. However, the coronavirus pandemic has halted all debate. Batra, who is also head of the International Hockey Federation, said "documentation" has started for 2032 but work is now frozen. A final decision could take place until 2025.
"Now there is a team that visits the various venues and you keep talking to them and then they submit a report. It is a continuous process," claimed Batra. "This is not the time to talk with business houses or government about pitching for the Olympics. The first thing should be how we sort out this problem which has come into the world."
Earlier, India were unable to submit a bid for hosting the 2030 Asian Games before the deadline of April 22 due to coronavirus pandemic. According to Batra, India will now consider to host the following edition of Asian Games. sBatra stated the organization switched priorities following the outburst and ensures the well-being of its athletes first.
Batra revealed the Indian Olympic Association could not complete the necessary legalities and formal procedures timely, in the wake of nationwide lockdown. However, he sounded confident that India will successfully bid for the 2034 Asian Games edition. "We could not complete the formalities after the virus outbreak. We will now aim to bid for the 2034 edition," Batra said.
