In the corridors of power where India’s bid for the 2036 Olympics is being shaped, infrastructure is hardly a concern given “how ready” candidate city Ahmedabad already appears to be.
But what is keeping officials busy is brainstorming some fundamental changes in India’s medal strategy to ensure the country finds its footing in disciplines like aquatics and cycling. Both these events offer a combined total of more than 100 Olympic medals, but none for India so far.
“Would it look nice if, at our home Olympics, our athletes finished 71st overall with six medals, as happened in Paris (2024)? We need to address this most urgently.
“Host countries are stepping up their Olympic performances to ensure they don’t feel left out of their own party,” a sports ministry source privy to developments with a view to the high-profile bid told PTI.
That’s exactly what China did at the 2008 Beijing Games, drastically improving its performance in previously underperforming disciplines such as boxing, canoeing and archery, to a record 100 medals.
The International Olympic Committee (IOC) has suspended the host selection process to reassess its criteria after receiving feedback from member countries.
“This process will be restarted in another six months,” the source said.
“India is at an inflection point in its sporting journey. And the challenge is to make sure we go up and don’t go down from there. It’s not the infrastructure that’s concerned, that’s the easiest box to tick and perhaps the most visible, hence the obsession.
“The bigger problem is our status as a sporting nation,” he stressed.
And that’s why in the future we will focus more on schools where the potential stars of 2036 are currently scattered across the length and breadth of the country.
Disciplines in which India does not do very well but which bring in a high number of medals are where the talent identification program would turn its aggressive attention. So water sports, rowing and cycling are high on the list of priorities.
Aquatics, which includes swimming, diving, water polo, artistic swimming and open water swimming, will offer 55 of the more than 350 total medals up for grabs in 36 disciplines at the Los Angeles Olympics in 2028. But India is not expected to win any.
The same is true of rowing, which has 45 medals at stake in 15 races in Los Angeles, and cycling, where 22 races will bring 66 medals.
“The challenge is to shift our focus from events that we’ve pretty much mastered to events where the medal haul is high but we’re nowhere in the picture,” said another official closely associated with the country’s athlete development program.
“It doesn’t mean we’re going to ignore something like boxing, wrestling or shooting. But the plan is to direct potential performers to those high-medal disciplines to get our tally into the top 10. We can’t afford to ignore them.”
“Even in athletics, we have to achieve better results on the track.”
HOW DOES THIS HAPPEN?
This is where artificial intelligence comes in handy with the Fitness Battery tests, a series of exercises to measure cardiovascular endurance, muscle strength, speed and agility, flexibility and balance along with movement.
“Grassroot Talent Identification is where AI will come in handy. So AI can be used to get accurate data from basic battery tests. This would help us find talent who may not even be aware of their own potential and give them access to our training facilities,” the source said.
“Not every child who goes to school knows their athletic ability or is naturally drawn to sports. But if we can do a nationwide talent hunt using basic tests to understand individual ability, we might find kids who are good at sports but don’t know about it yet.”
Right now, the government’s Khelo India Talent Development (KITD) program is focused on identifying young sports talents at all levels. The program provides formative training and creates a pathway to Khelo India academies, national camps and other elite sports programs. According to the Sports Ministry, there are 1,067 Khelo India Centers (KICs) across the country.
“The Government of India is fully aware of the historical financial problems
associated with hosting the Olympics,” Sports Minister Mansukh Mandaviya said in response to a question on the 2036 bid in the Rajya Sabha on Thursday.
“As far as the Union Government is concerned, the primary objectives of its policies and programs are sustainable sports infrastructure, local development and high-performance preparation for events like the 2036 Olympics,” he added.
CWG 2030
Before 2036 ambitions India is tasked with hosting the 2030 Commonwealth Gamesalso in Ahmedabad. It is an event that struggles for relevance, but one in which India has almost always excelled across disciplines.
The challenge here is therefore to ensure delivery within a budget that does not cause public outrage and operations run smoothly.
If Ahmedabad pulls it off, it will heal the scars of the 2010 CWG, which was mired in controversies related to allegations of financial misappropriation and the tag of costliest games ever with over Rs 70,000 crore spent.
“Firstly, the 2030 Games will not be as centralized as in 2010. Decision-making would be collective and the organizing committee will be established by March,” a ministry source said.
“India mostly does a good job of envisioning and planning things, but it’s the implementation part where we stumble. This piece would be well done in 2030,” he added.
– The end
Issued by:
Saurabh Kumar
Published on:
January 29, 2026
