International Olympics Committee (IOC) president Thomas Bach has noted that there is great interest in India in hosting the 2036 edition of the Olympics. Indian contingent registered its best haul winning 107 medals with 28 of them being at the Asian Games in Hangzhou recently. The blockbuster performance has shot up the possibility of India bidding for hosting right even more.
So far, only comments have been made by the stakeholders regarding the matters but work is in progress behind the scenes. The official bidding process for the 2036 Olympics is yet to begin but according to Bach there are serious considerations about the possibility. He also added that the committee can only look into it once the proposal officially comes.
"We have so far noted that there’s a great interest and there are apparently serious considerations here within India (to bid for the Games). We have to wait now how this will turn into a project and will be brought forward to us. Only then we can form an opinion," Bach said ahead of the 141st session of the International Olympics Committee. Bach was also impressed with India's recent performance at the Asian Games and also noted the contingent's performance in different disciplines.
"We appreciate how Olympic sports in recent years have been growing in India. If you look at the medal haul in this Asian Games, it’s really remarkable. You can see that it’s not only shooting any more, India has medals in different disciplines that are more widespread," he added. Interestingly, Commonwealth Games in 2010 happened in India but there were a lot of corruption allegations then. Bach denied that affecting India's bid for hosting the Olympics.
"I don’t think the 2010 CWG will still play a role. You cannot fault such a young nation responsible for events where a majority of the people were not even born yet. The India of today cannot be compared with the India of 2010," Bach further added.
