The Indian Olympic Association (IOA) on Thursday disclosed their intentions of bidding for the 2026 Youth Olympics as well as the 2030 Asian Games and the 2032 Olympics.
Addressing a press conference here in the presence of International Olympic Committee (IOC) President Thomas Bach, IOA President Narinder Batra announced, "We are bidding for three events. 2026 Youth Olympics, 2030 Asian Games and 2032 Olympics. We don't know whether they will come to India or not. let us see how fierce the competition is."
Thomas Bach, who is on a two-day visit to India, acknowledged the intentions of the IOA with appreciation, but only before he advised the national Olympic body to wait for the IOC to come up with a schedule for the bidding process.
"We have taken note with great appreciation of the intention of IOA to host future Youth Olympics and Summer Olympics," Bach admitted.
"It would be fantastic for Indian athletes to have their Olympics in their home country. It will be a major boost to sports in India and develop interest among the youth to take up sports," the IOA President added before he went on to suggest that this might not be the right time to dwell upon that subject.
"But it's not the time to have a detailed discussion about future candidates. Currently there is no procedure open for either the Olympic Games or the Youth Olympics. The next available slot for the Youth Olympics is 2026 but before that we are yet to reach a decision on the host city for the 2022 edition. The process is underway and only after we finalise the hosts for the 2022 Youth Olympics, we will able to start the procedure for 2026," Bach explained.
As for India's bid to host the 2032 Olympics, Bach said, "There is a lot of time left till we open the bidding procedure for the 2032 Olympics. We have to wait till then."
During the press meet, Narinder Batra also reflected on National Rifle Association of India (NRAI) President Raninder Singh's calls for boycotting the 2022 Commonwealth Games on account of shooting being dropped out of the Games' roster.
Tagging the move to be "too extreme" Batra said, "Raninder is free to make his statements. There are a lot of things related to government. We will certainly pick up the issue of shooting not being there in the 2022 CWG but it does not start or end with not participating."
Bach, meanwhile, also shared the subject of his discussion with India's Minister of Sports and Youth Affairs, Rajyavardhan Singh Rathore.
"We talked about sports science, coaching, sports for all and the significance of sports in society. The IOC can assist and put its expertise in all these matters. We can see some initiatives which will be beneficial for Indian athletes so that they can excel in 2020 Olympics," Bach stated.
Another subject that crept up during the conference was that of India's embarrassing record of getting into the bad books of the IOC for doping violations.
Thomas Bach, however, seemed assured that the Indian bodies will look to deal with that particular stigma efficiently.
"We have received a very clear and firm commitment from the minister that fair sports and clean sports is the first priority for the government. We are confident this issue will be addressed properly with the help of WADA," he said.