New Delhi: Indian should aim to host more big-ticket sporting events after bidding to host 2036 Olympics, says World Athletics boss Sebastian Coe.
The former athlete told this to Prime Minister Narendra Modi at a meeting, having also met sports minister Mansukh Mandaviya and others to discuss the development of Indian sports.
“We talked about the importance of big events in India. He was very clear that big events promote not just better competition, but have a broader societal impact, particularly on the health, mental and physical of young people” Coe told PTI on Wednesday.
“And he (PM) is obviously very keen for more events to come to India and was particularly encouraging of the Indian athletics federation (AFI) to bid for more of our events.”
Coe, a four-time Olympic medallist middle distance runner, said India could bid to host the World Athletics Ultimate Championship.
“I sincerely hope so (India can aspire to host the event). But look, we have a bidding process, which we actively encourage all our federations that love athletics and have the capacity to deliver those events, to want to bid for them.
“So, World Athletics is open for business and India is a very important market for us,” he said.
‘Neeraj Chopra the face of other sports in India’
Coe is in running to become the International Olympic Committee (IOC) president with elections set to be held next year. He said it is essential for a billion-strong country like India to excel in other sports apart from cricket.
And Coes thinks Neeraj Chopra could be the face of that change after winning gold and silver at Tokyo 2020 and Paris 2024, respectively.
“When you have athletes of the calibre and high profile of Neeraj, then you can actually mount a very good challenge to other sports. And look, we know the national religion is cricket,” he said.
“It’s really important that India have athletes that capture the imagination of the public, ultimately the broadcasters. And Neeraj does both.”
World Athletics boss Sebastian Coe held a meeting with Prime Minister Narendra Modi while also meeting sports minister Mansukh Mandaviya and others to discuss development of Indian sports. Other Sports Sports News: Latest Cricket News, Cricket Live Score, Sports Breaking News from Sports Today
