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IOC President Thomas Bach visits India, what's in store?

IOC President Thomas Bach visits India, whats in store?
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Published: 19 April 2018 8:03 AM GMT
International Olympic Committee (IOC) President, Thomas Bach is in India on a two-day visit where he is expected to meet the newly elected IOA office bearers, several Olympic medallists, and Sports Minister Rajyavardhan Rathore. Olympic Council of Asia President and chief of the influential Association of National Olympic Committees, Sheikh Ahmad Al Sabah. Thomas Bach arrived in India after attending the Sports Accord Summit that took place in Bangkok. Among the several discussions that will take place during this short and packed visit from the IOC President, it is being reported that one of the main topics of discussion that will be put forth is an interest to host the 2026 Youth Olympic Games in India. Only recently, the sports Minister Rajyavardhan Rathore had announced that India should not be expected to host major tournaments in the near future since it will pay more attention to small scale widespread development. Considering the fact that a Youth event does not pose heavily on the budget, the government is willing to host the 2026 Youth Olympics, keeping in mind the considerable amount of time and a less than extravagant budget. Image result for thomas bach in india
'Since the cost of hosting a Youth Olympics is to be shared with the IOC, the government is likely to agree to India hosting it in near future. So, we will express our willingness during the meeting with Bach,' an IOA official told PTI on the condition of anonymity. 'We will convey to Bach our willingness to host big events,' he added. Should the Youth Olympics be hosted by India, the cost of the event will be shared between the IOC and the host city, while the travel costs of athletes and coaches are paid by the IOC. The number of athletes expected to take part in a Youth Olympic is around 3,500. Having hosted the 2010 Commonwealth Games, and after having a fruitful 2017 U-17 World Cup, India has a good case to present in front of Thomas Bach and New Delhi is not a bad choice for the youth championship to be hosted, considering the city already has the infrastructure ready. IOA President Narinder Batra, just after his election to the top job in December last year, had said that India should think of hosting big-ticket events like the 2030 Asian Games and 2032 Olympics. ALSO READ:
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However, this is not exactly in line with the kind of approach the sports minister has been advocating. While announcing the visit of Thomas Bach, Bhatia said, "The IOA would certainly convey our readiness to host big-ticket multi-discipline events in India and would like to discuss how we can effectively work towards achieving IOC's Olympic Agenda 2020 strategy." Since Rathore is not an advocate of hosting big events and since the IOC is willing to host the Youth Olympics in countries where the Summer or Winter Olympics are not held., the 2026 Youth Olympics falls into a somewhat middle ground and creates a win-win situation.
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