Former Union Sports Minister and BJP MP Anurag Thakur on Wednesday said India is preparing to host the 2030 Commonwealth Games on a grand scale while also pursuing its bid to stage the 2036 Olympic Games.
India was formally ratified as host of the centenary Commonwealth Games in 2030 last November, with Ahmedabad proposed as the main hub. The plan is expected to build on the model of the 2026 Glasgow Games as the country aims to celebrate the centenary edition of the multi-sport event.
“The staging of sporting events in India is becoming larger and better than before. The 2030 Commonwealth Games are expected to be organised on a very grand scale, and India is also preparing to host the 2036 Olympics,” Thakur told IANS.
He added tbat India was making sustained efforts to secure the hosting rights for the 2036 Olympics and expressed hope that the country would eventually win the bid.
“It is hoped that India will get the hosting rights for the 2036 Olympics as well, after which the country will witness a series of major international sporting events one after another,” he said.
Last year, Gujarat’s Principal Secretary for Ports and Transport Ashwini Kumar said preparations for the 2030 Games were progressing steadily, with the state aiming to complete most of the work by the end of 2028 or early 2029.
Recalling India’s previous experience with the Commonwealth Games in 2010, Thakur said that the Delhi Games under the then UPA government had been overshadowed by corruption allegations.
“There was a time when the Commonwealth Games were held in India during the UPA government, and at that time the discussion was more about corruption allegations than about the games themselves,” he said.
India had finished second in the medal tally at the 2010 Delhi Commonwealth Games with 101 medals, including 38 gold. In the 2022 edition in Birmingham, India secured 61 medals, including 22 gold, with shooting not part of the programme.
-IANS
