India Olimpiai álmai: Erős érvek a 2036-os rendezés mellett

Having previously expressed that he was "very pleased" with India's 2036 Games interest in December, Sebastian Coe, whose maternal grandfather is from the South Asian nation, doubled down on his excitement for India's global sporting growth in a recent interview with The Press Trust of India (PTI).

"Well, you won't be surprised given my background to say that I'm obviously very happy that India is committed to global sport and particularly the Olympic movement," Coe told PTI. "I'm very happy to hear that. And look, it will be very competitive. It won’t be the only bidder, but the case that it can make is a very strong case."

India's Prime Minister Narendra Modi first publicly voiced his hope of seeing the 2036 Games come to the Asian nation at the 141st International Olympic Committee Session in 2023. The following year he continuously promoted India's suitability at the Paris 2024 Summer Games before telling an Indian diaspora gathered in New York that he was "putting in all possible efforts" to win hosting rights. In November of last year, after months of informal dialogue with the IOC, the Indian Olympic Association (IOA) then sent a letter of intent to the IOC's Future Host Commission officially becoming the first country to put itself forward as a 2036 host candidate.

While India has heavily conveyed its aspirations to grow its global sporting image, it has a blotched record when it comes to hosting and has numerous hurdles to overcome if it is to be entrusted with contriving what Coe describes in his manifesto as "the greatest stage on Earth". 

India has twice staged the Asian Games along with several Cricket World Cups, but perhaps the most comparable sporting event that it has hosted, the 2010 Commonwealth Games, was far from a resounding success. Hosted in Delhi, it was marred by controversy with budget overruns and construction delays inviting negative pre-event publicity. Hygiene and security concerns continued to plague its reputation early on with the Commonwealth Games Village branded "uninhabitable" due to poor living conditions.

"India will need serious repairing of its poor reputation on punctuality and cleanliness. Its record in ensuring comfort for spectators has been suspect in cricket, and that aspect will need to be upgraded drastically," the Indian Express wrote in November. "Also, while stadium aesthetics look pretty in PowerPoint presentations and 3D printing, leaking roofs or sub-par sustainability goals in construction won’t help in India making the cut."

Coe, however, feels that India will only strengthen its case to one day host in the coming years and should not give up hope if it is not awarded the 2036 Games citing previous examples of Rio 2016 and Paris 2024. "Plenty of cities have bid and lost and come back. Interestingly, when London won in 2005 (for 2012), it defeated Paris. We all have just been to the Paris Olympic Games," said the 68-year-old World Athletics chief. "Rio was one of the cities that didn't make it past the initial evaluation for the 2012 bid. And they had the Games immediately after Britain in 2016. So it is by no means the end of the story. And even the legacy from bidding is an extremely strong legacy."

The double Olympic 1500m gold medallist, who headed the successful London 2012 Olympics bid and then became chairman of its organising committee, also spoke of Asia's growth and accord with the Olympic movement. "There is a huge potential in Asia. What is really important here is we recognise that Asia and particularly South Asia has the real potential to help grow the movement and bring more young people into sport and into healthy lifestyles," he said before recalling a meeting he had with Modi in November. "I had a fascinating discussion with the honourable Narendra Modi, your prime minister. And the one thing we both agreed about was the absolute importance of using sport for health impacts."

India is hoping to host several upcoming events to help strengthen its position as a global sporting hub and dovetail its 2036 Summer Games candidacy. These include the 2029 World Athletics Championships, the 2030 Youth Olympic Games, and the 2030 Commonwealth Games, all of which represent appropriate rehearsals for sport's biggest show. 

The move for the latter recently received the backing of Commonwealth Games Federation (CGF) CEO Katie Sadleir but there is far more competition for the 2036 Olympic and Paralympic Games than any of the aforementioned. Qatar, Indonesia, South Korea, Mexico, Egypt, South Africa, Poland, Hungary, and Turkey, among others, have all registered an interest in 2036 hosting rights and will no doubt soon be putting forward proposals of their own to rival that presented by India. In any case, the 2036 Games host nation will likely not be selected before the year is out by which time there will be a new president of the IOC. 

More than 100 members of the IOC are set to vote on Thomas Bach’s successor this month during the 144th IOC Session which is being held in Greece from March 18 to 21. Coe is one of the favourites but is up against six other candidates in the shape of Kirsty Coventry of Zimbabwe, Prince Feisal Al Hussein of Jordan, Juan Antonio Samaranch Jr of Spain, David Lappartient of France, Johan Eliasch of Sweden, and Morinari Watanabe of Japan.

Source and other source