Former Indian tennis star Mahesh Bhupathi said that India must host the Olympics and also talked about the challenges non-cricket sports face in India. Bhupathi was speaking at the at Trailblazers 3.0 Conclave organised by RevSportz in Kolkata. Speaking at the conclave, Bhupathi said, “We must host the Olympics, be it in 2036 or 2046.” Notably, India has expressed interest in hosting the 2036 Summer Olympics. The Indian Olympic Association (IOA), on October 1 last year, formally sent a ‘Letter of Intent’ to the International Olympic Committee’s (IOC) Future Host Commission, expressing India’s interest in hosting the Olympics and Paralympics Games in 2036.
On challenges faced by India in other sports, Bhupathi said, “The BCCI (Board of Control for Cricket in India) filters down the money to the under-14 level, to the districts and villages. The BCCI is a private organisation. It has the money. But other sports cannot do that.”
Bhupathi also spoke about young up-and-coming tennis star Maaya Rajeshwaran, who has won six International Tennis Federation (ITF) singles titles at the age of 15 and is shaping up to be the next big star from India in the sport. He said about Maaya, “Tennis is a big world and we are talking about just one Maaya. In Spain, for example, they have 30-40 Maayas.”
Indian squash ace, Saurav Ghosal, also agreed with Bhupathi on India hosting Olympics saying, “It is important to create that impetus.”
The former All England champion and Indian badminton chief coach Pullela Gopichand also spoke on how India failed to carry momentum after the 2010 Commonwealth Games, which were hosted in New Delhi and saw India win 101 medals.
“We did not have the infrastructure then. It is much better now,” he added.
Adille Sumariwalla, vice-president of World Athletics, said: “We must focus on sports that have multiple medal opportunities.”
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