CHENNAI: As the nation celebrates National Sports Day on Friday, miles away India formally submitted the 2030 Commonwealth Games bid at the Commonwealth Sport (CS) office in London. The delegation was led by Harsh Sanghavi, sports minister, Gujarat government. Once again as reported by this newspaper like the Olympics, Amdavad will be the host city.
This comes days after the Cabinet approved India’s bid for the Games and was submitted to the CS interim president Donald Rukare in the presence of both Gujarat government and Commonwealth Games Association, India, officials. What seems interesting is that the Cabinet had cleared Ahmedabad as the host city for the Centenary Games.
Besides the state sports minister, Raghuram Iyer CEO, IOA, Ashwini Kumar Principle secretary Gujarat government, Harpal Singh, executive committee member of the IOA and Pranshu Jain of Ernst & Young were part of the entourage of officials.
According to a statement, “The bid positions Amdavad as the host city for the Centenary edition of the Games, marking 100 years of the Commonwealth Games.”
India is also highlighting its endeavour to host inclusive and sustainable Games. “The proposal reflects India’s commitment to delivering a Games that is sustainable, inclusive, and aligned with the Commonwealth’s Games Reset principles,” it said.
Speaking on the submission, Sanghavi highlighted that the 2030 Commonwealth Games would hold significance for both India and the Commonwealth. “The event will mark a century of sporting excellence, unity and shared values within the Commonwealth, making the Centenary edition a landmark celebration,” said the statement.
India will host a bigger and larger Games than the next edition in Glasgow next year. All the major disciplines like hockey, shooting, archery, wrestling and squash will be back on the roster. The bid also showcases India’s history and cultural heritage. The Games will be based on the ancient principles of ‘vasudhaiva kutumbakam’ (the world is a family).
India had last hosted the Commonwealth Games in 2010 that led to a huge corruption charges and scandal. Hopefully, this time the government would manage to avoid such a situation.
CGA, India and IOA chief PT Usha said that the bid represents the aspirations of an entire nation. “The Commonwealth Games in Amdavad will showcase not just India’s sporting capabilities but also the values of friendship, respect, and inclusivity that define our sporting culture,” she said in the statement.
With not too many countries willing to host the CWG, India are most likely to bag the rights to host the Games. The last CWG in 2010 improved India’s overall international sporting health but failed to create sporting culture that is necessary for a progress of the nation. Two years later, at the London Olympics, India bagged six medals but in Rio they bagged just two. At Tokyo Olympics in 2021, India managed just seven.
Hopefully, as projected India will improve their medals tally in Olympics and hopes for hosting the 2036 Olympic Games.