India has officially expressed its intent to host the 2036 Olympic and Paralympic Games, marking a significant step forward in the country’s aspirations to bring the world’s biggest sporting event to its shores. On October 1, the Indian Olympic Association (IOA) sent a ‘Letter of Intent’ to the International Olympic Committee’s (IOC) Future Host Commission, confirming India’s interest, as reported by the Ministry of Youth Affairs and Sports.
This move follows Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s recent remarks, where he highlighted India’s commitment to hosting the Olympics, stating that efforts were underway to make the 2036 Games a reality for India. Addressing the Indian diaspora in New York, PM Modi expressed confidence that the world would soon see the Summer Olympics held in India.
India’s sports landscape has been evolving rapidly, with the nation making significant strides in multi-sport events. At the 2022 Commonwealth Games in Birmingham, India secured 61 medals, while its best medal tally remains 101 from the 2010 Commonwealth Games hosted in Delhi. In recent achievements, India crossed the 100-medal threshold for the first time in both the Asian Games and Para Asian Games in Hangzhou, securing 107 and 111 medals, respectively.
At the recent Paris Olympics, India earned six medals—five bronze and one silver—finishing 71st in the medal tally, with the United States topping the chart with 126 medals.