IOC chief Thomas Bach: Serious considerations, interest in India on hosting Olympics | Sports News

Ahead of the 141st session of the International Olympic Committee here, IOC president Thomas Bach said he has noted India’s “great interest” in hosting the Games, while adding that the T20 format, which is set to be included in the 2028 edition, was the perfect vehicle to re-introduce cricket into the quadrennial sporting extravaganza.
There has been talk of India throwing its hat in the ring to stage the Olympics, possibly in 2036, and while the official bidding process hasn’t started yet, Bach said there are “serious considerations” about the possibility.
“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 told a select group of journals on Tuesday.
India’s improving performance in multi-sport events is another aspect to be considered in this regard, the 69-year-old German said.

“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 said.
The IOC session, to be held in Mumbai this weekend, was originally scheduled in May, before being deferred due to governance issues within the Indian Olympic Association (IOA). There were corruption allegations regarding the 2010 Commonwealth Games as well.
Asked if such matters would queer the pitch for India’s bid to host an Olympics, Bach said: “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.”
However, the IOA needs to get its house in order, he said. “But what will play a role is the situation of the IOA. Because in the end, IOA is our agency in India. And when it comes to Olympic candidature, only the National Olympic Committee can sign (the contract). Without the signature of the NOC there’s no valid candidature. This is why we must have confidence in the governance of IOA,” he cautioned.
“We have seen some movement. We hope — and we will take the opportunity of our visit here to have more talks — that this progress continues. Then, we can have confidence in IOA,” he said.

On the inclusion of T20 cricket in the Olympics, Bach said he was a big fan of the format, whose spot in the Los Angeles Games is likely to be rubber-stamped in the upcoming IOC session.
“The IOC’s programme commission had a meeting yesterday to look into this proposal (for cricket at Los Angeles). It will be brought forward to the executive board (which will meet in Mumbai). Then the board will have to make a recommendation at the IOC session, which will then vote (on it). So I must be careful in choosing my words. But what I can say is that I’m a fan of T20 cricket,” he said.Most Read
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“What speaks in favour of the sport is that it has been gaining more and more international representation. With the T20, there is a format available that can be played in an Olympic Games. (It) is a format which is of interest for more countries. We see that interest in cricket is not only limited to countries where it is already played, but also to the USA, which has a growing Indian community, so you have a huge potential there,” he said.
“The sport has a certain representation in all five continents. This is not necessarily true for every sport that we have on the Olympic programme. So this is a good space to develop it further within the continents. If we’re talking about 2028, there is time to grow,” he said.
The IOC president said he had been in discussions with cricket’s world body to widen the footprint of the sport. “I remember my first discussion with the International Cricket Council (ICC), I think it was the first year of my term. There we were already discussing two points: the format and universal appeal. With the format they had then, it just didn’t seem possible. There has already been good progress. I’m sure that ICC will continue this way,” he said, adding that when cricket gets the nod for inclusion in LA 2028, it is likely that many governments will also increase funding for their cricket federations.