India not bidding for 2024 Games, says IOC chief

IOC, India agree to focus on athletes for now, provide assistance for promoting sports in the cricket-mad country

NEW DELHI: India is serious about hosting an Olympics but will not bid for the 2024 Summer Games, International Olympic Committee (IOC) president Thomas Bach said on Monday.

The announcement came after Bach met with Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi fuelled, sparking speculation about a possible Indian bid for the 2024 Games.

"We were aware of this speculation and quite frankly, we were a little bit surprised because, for different reasons, we think it maybe a little bit too quick now for India to have a successful Olympic Games in 2024," Bach told reporters.

Boston, Hamburg and Rome have launched bids for the 2024 Games while Paris is expected to join them before the mid-September deadline. The host city will be selected in 2017.

"We were very happy to see the prime minister is sharing the opinion. He is seriously looking into an Olympic candidature but wants to have this well-prepared," Bach said on his first visit to India since becoming the IOC president.

"He also considers that building such a successful candidature from now to September 15 is maybe a little bit difficult. So we will stay in contact for the future but for 2024, we share the same opinion."

Three-times host of the 50-over cricket World Cup, India staged the Asian Games in 1951 and 1982 in New Delhi. The Indian capital had also hosted the 2010 Commonwealth Games, which was marred by charges of corruption and construction delays.

Bach said he and Modi agreed India should, for now, focus on their athletes performing better at the Olympics.

Sought @Olympics President Mr. Bach's support in making India a hub for sports infrastructure & technology. http://t.co/QjUhjlXSun

— Narendra Modi (@narendramodi) April 27, 2015

IOC President Thomas Bach & I agreed that sports is a powerful force that can unite humanity & society. pic.twitter.com/2KNNpbmRDK

— Narendra Modi (@narendramodi) April 27, 2015

"India is a sleeping giant and we were then at length discussing how we can wake up this sleeping giant.

Assistance for India

While Bach ruled out a bid by India, he said that the IOC would be looking at providing assistance for promoting sports in the cricket-mad country.

"We are more than happy to assist because we think that 1.2 billion people with about 80 million young people have a huge potential, not only in sports but in particular in sports. India could be a powerhouse in sports."

Once a hockey powerhouse which won the event in eight summer Games, cricket-mad India remains an Olympic under-achiever and had to wait until 2008 for its first individual gold medal.