India will make a bid to host the Commonwealth Games 2010 and Olympics 2012 or 2016, Indian Olympic Association president Suresh Kalmadi announced in Hyderabad on Saturday.
Speaking to newsmen on the penultimate day of the 32nd National Games, Kalmadi said the IOA would seek Prime Minister Atal Behari Vajpayee's nod to bid for the Olympics.
Vajpayee will be the chief guest at the National Games' closing ceremony on Sunday.
Kalmadi said Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister N Chandrababu Naidu has evinced keen interest in hosting the Olympics in Hyderabad. However, the IOA requires cabinet clearance to make a bid for the same, he added.'
The IOA president also announced that India would host a major international sports event next year when the first-ever Afro-Asian Games will be held in New Delhi in October-November.
"We are second to none in hosting the big events but we need to improve our medals performance," he said, pointing out that Indian teams are on the right track as was evident from the recent successes at the Asian Games and other international events.
Kalmadi said if the spirit witnessed during the National Games at Hyderabad is kept alive for the next six to seven years, India could not only host all major events but also lead the medals tally.
He was all praise for Andhra Pradesh's conduct of the Games.
"Every state should replicate what AP has done here. In a land of cricket and more cricket, the initiatives taken by AP will go a long way in popularizing other games and the Olympic spirit," he said.
He said AP provided the latest equipment even for water sports, which was responsible for 16 records being broken in canoeing.
"This proves that we are second to none in performance but we need to get right equipment," he observed.
The IOA president said the five editions of National Games, held in Pune, Bangalore, Manipur, Punjab and Hyderabad during the last seven years, had created sports infrastructure worth Rs 12 billion. This, he said, was made possible despite the fact that the budgetary allocations for sports is meager. He requested the Indian government to enhance the sports budget by at least five times to encourage sports activity.
"We have infrastructure in all parts of the country and we are now moving to smaller places," he said, while pointing that the next National Games would be held in Assam in early 2005.
"It will be tough task for Assam after the high standards laid down by AP," he predicted.
Assam Chief Minister Tarun Gogai will receive the National Games flag from Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister N Chandrababu Naidu at the closing ceremony of 32nd National Games on Sunday evening.
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