Committed to India hosting 2036 Olympics: PT Usha

Indian Olympic Association (IOA) President PT Usha on Tuesday insisted that its commitment to host the 2036 Summer Games "remained steadfast" despite the "internal challenges" her organisation has been facing due to her feud with the Executive Council members.

Usha has been engaging in a raging fight with 12 EC members who have refused to ratify the appointment of Raghuram Iyer as the IOA CEO made by her in January.

"Despite some internal challenges within the IOA, our commitment to hosting the 2036 Summer Games remains steadfast. The IOA remained in continuous contact with the IOC and I am optimistic that India will be viewed as a gracious host," Usha said in a video sent by her office.

India has submitted a 'Letter of Intent', expressing its desire to host the 2036 Olympic and Paralympic Games, to the International Olympic Committee's Future Host Commission, taking the first concrete step in an ambitious plan after months of informal dialogue with the IOC.

The letter was submitted by the Indian Olympic Association on October 1, a sports ministry source said before Usha officially confirmed the development.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi had first talked about his government's aspiration to host the 2036 Olympics last year.

"During the IOC session last year, our PM Narendra Modi put forward his vision of India hosting the Summer Olympics and Paralympics in 2036. Since then we have maintained regular communication with the IOC president Thomas Bach and the officials of the Future Host Commission," Usha said.

"We are also engaged in a productive discussion with the IOC during the Paris Olympics. Our officials attended the executive programme and observer programme organised by the IOC during Paris Olympics.

"These interactions and learnings led to the submission of our letter of intent to host the 2036 Games in India in the early October this year."

A decision on the host will not be taken before the IOC elections next year and India will also have to face competition from several other nations like Saudi Arabia, Qatar and Turkey, who are positioning themselves as strong contenders to host the sporting spectacle.

However, with the submission of a 'Letter of Intent', the nation has progressed from "Informal Dialogue" to the "Continuous Dialogue" stage of the host election process.

In this stage, the IOC conducts a "feasibility study" of the progress of projects associated with the Games in the potential host.

The next phase of the process would be "Targeted Dialogue", which would require the submission of an edition-specific formal bid, which would be assessed by the Future Host Commission.

The process would finally end with a host election.