The International Olympic Committee (IOC) member Nita Ambani on Monday, August 28 announced that India will be hosting the 141st IOC session this year. Labeling it as the first step towards achieving the dream of bringing the Olympics to India, Ms Ambani announced that the three-day session will take place at the Nita Mukesh Ambani Cultural Center in Mumbai from October 15-17 this year. Calling it a golden era for Indian Sports, Ambani mentioned that the IOC session coming to India after 40 years with a thumping majority is a huge indicator for the same.
"As a member of the International Olympic Committee, it has been my dream to bring the Olympics to India. I'm happy to share with you that we have taken the first steps in that direction. In October this year, we will host the 141st IOC session at the Nita Mukesh Ambani Cultural Center. You will be proud to know that for this historic session bid, there were 75 votes cast for India and only one vote against. So with a thumping majority, we are bringing the Olympic movement back to India after a gap of 40 years.
"And this is just the beginning. It's a start of a glorious new era for Indian sport. An era in which our young athletes are making us proud at the highest levels. And India is finding its rightful place in the global sporting arena. Only onwards and upwards from here on," Ms. Ambani further added.
The IOC session last took place in India back in 1983. India may have hosted the biggest of the sporting events including the Commonwealth Games in Delhi 2010, the T20 World Cup in 2016, ODI World Cups in 1987, 1996, 2011 and now in 2023, the Olympic Games continue to elude.
Ambani reiterated Sports Minister Anurag Thakur's words about India hosting the Olympics. Thakur a month ago mentioned that India will bid for the 2036 Olympics given the improvement in infrastructure, quality of talent and the fact that India is excelling in every field. Last year at this very session in Lausanne, Ms. Ambani had mentioned that hosting the IOC session and then the Youth Olympics will serve as gateway for India to host the Summer Olympics.
