IOC Session in India: 'We will show we are ready to host Olympics', says IOA president PT Usha

India’s remarkable growth in athletics has significantly enriched the nation’s sports landscape. In an exclusive interview with News18, PT Usha, the president of the Indian Olympic Association (IOA), spoke at length about the opportunities presented by the IOC Session 2023. The event is scheduled to be hosted in Mumbai from 15 October to 17 October. The IOA chief also talked about India’s aspirations to host the Olympic Games one day.

Also read: How India won the hosting rights for 141st International Olympic Committee Session

India made headlines being the hosts for the IOC session set to occur in 2023. The Indian delegation, led by IOC Member Nita Ambani, IOA president Dr Narinder Batra, Youth Affairs and Sports Minister Anurag Thakur and India’s first individual Olympic gold medalist Abhinav Bindra, was responsible for giving India the IOC session hosting rights.

Usha also said how this occasion offers a substantial platform for the country to demonstrate its remarkable capabilities. She expressed her confidence that, with the support of renowned philanthropist Nita Ambani, India can deliver a memorable session that underlines the country’s ambitions for the international showpiece in the future.

Usha said, “The IOC session is a huge occasion and an opportunity to showcase our capability. With the support of India’s IOC member Nita Ambani, We will show that we are ready to host the Olympics.”

As India aspire to host the world’s most-watched sporting event in the future, the IOA chief said that they were ready, although she was hesitant to comment on the status of bid.

Usha, during the conversation, also said that India were looking at being the hosts for the 2036 edition of the Games and stressed the importance of excelling both as hosts and in the Olympic medal tally.

“The government, including the PM, Honourable Shri Narendra Modi, has the vision to host the Olympics and we are getting a lot of support. We also have a lot of infrastructure in Ahmedabad,” she continued.

Usha said that India need to make a strong impression as hosts of the grand spectacle and said that performance of the athletes in the Olympics is a concern, but there are areas of improvement and this has coincided with the nation’s vision to host the Olympics.