Indian Olympic Association is ‘dead serious’ about hosting Olympics in 2032, submits formal interest to bid

• India has reportedly submitted a formal expression of interest to bid for hosting of the 2032 Olympics, PTI reported.
  
• Mumbai and Delhi are the top two options under consideration by Indian Olympic Association (IOA), which has approached the International Olympic Committee.
  
• The IOA is now seeking the Indian government’s backing for the formal bid
  

India is holding on to its dream of hosting the Olympic games for the first time.

The Indian Olympic Association has submitted a formal interest to bid for the hosting of the 2032 Olympics, PTI reported.

While New Delhi and Mumbai are on the radar of IOA as likely venues for Olympics 2032, it is also reportedly considering some other cities, said the report.

The IOC has already started planning for the bidding process and will approach the Indian government to back its bid, according to the report that cited Rajeev Mehta, IOA secretary general Rajeev Mehta.

Mehta told PTI that the IOC is “dead serious” about the bid for 2032 Olympics and has already submitted a formal letter expressing its interest to the IOC.

The IOA secretary general met members from the International Olympics Committee in Tokyo earlier this month. The president of IOA, Narendra Batra, also met the International Olympic Committee (IOC) chief Thomas Bach in January regarding potential interest.

However, India’s dream to host the 2032 Olympics may be thwarted since the International Olympic Committee instructed its members to not award any world sport event to India after it denied a visa to Donjeta Sadiku, a boxer from Kosova, as reported by Live Mint.

The bidding process is expected to start in 2022 and a host city will be decided by 2025.