International Olympic Committee (IOC) president Thomas Bach will meet Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Monday during his one-day whirlwind visit to discuss ways to take Indian sports forward amid speculation that the country might bid for the 2024 Olympic Games.
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Bach, who will be on his first visit to India after taking over as the head of IOC in 2013, will arrive in New Delhi on Sunday evening.
The crucial meeting with the Prime Minister has been scheduled for 1700 hours IST on Monday. Before that, the IOC chief will meet the Executive Committee of the Indian Olympic Association in the morning.
Sports Minister Sarbananda Sonowal will also be hosting a lunch for the visiting dignitary on Monday.
Bach, who hails from Germany, is likely to interact with the media before leaving the country. He is expected to fly to Australia from India to discus Brisbane's possible bid for the 2028 Olympics with Prime Minister Tony Abbott.
Indian Olympic Association (IOA) and Sports Ministry officials are tight-lipped on whether India will express its desire to bid for the 2024 Olympic Games during Bach's meeting with the Prime Minister.
Randhir Singh, who was the IOC member from India from 2001 to 2014 and now its honorary member, said that Bach's visit will bring Olympic sport at the forefront in the country.
"No doubt, his visit is important. He (Bach) wants India to do well in Olympics. Our Prime Minister is a pro-active person and he thinks of Indian sports and sportspersons. Let us see what happens in the meeting," Randhir, who is currently the Secretary General of Olympic Council of Asia, said.
"If the government expresses its desire to bid for the Olympics, may be in 2024 or later, it will be good for Indian sports and Indian youth. We have to wait and watch in that regard," he added.
Asked if any specific issue may be raised during Bach's visit, Randhir, who served as IOA Secretary General from 1987 to 2012, said the IOA and the government are keen to convert the Netaji Subhash Institute for Sports in Patiala into an Olympic High Performance Center.
"If that is done, IOC will send top coaches from other countries and athletes from other countries will also come at the NIS. That will be really beneficial to India and Indian sportspersons," he said.
Bach was upbeat about Indian sports scaling new heights in the near future and wants the country to win more Olympic medals, according to top IOA officials.
"Obviously, Mr Bach is upbeat about Indian sports. He asked me why the second most populous country in the world was winning just a few medals in Olympic Games. He wants India to win more medals in the Olympics," IOA president N Ramachandran had said.
"He feels that India should do better in Olympic Games and become a sporting power in the future," Ramachandran said, though he refused to speculate on whether India will express its desire to bid for Olympic Games.
India's chances are considered slim even if it enters into the fray because Rome, Boston and Hamburg are already declared candidates for 2024 and a host of other cities, including Paris are expected to join the race. The deadline for National Olympic Committees to officially launch a bid for the 2024 Olympic Games is September 15, 2015.
Moreover, the factor of huge cost of hosting the Olympic Games will have to be taken into account. The 2012 London Olympics had a cost of over US$ 10 billion (Rs 63800 crore). The bid for Paris has projected a cost of over $ 9 billion (Rs 57400 crore approx), while Rome is projecting $7.5 billion (Rs 47800 crore approx).
The IOA, which was suspended by the IOC for 14 months till February 2014 for electing tainted officials, dropped its plan to bid for the 2019 Asian Games last year despite being provided a deadline extension by the OCA, after the government was reluctant to endorse it due to cost factors.
