India targets 2036 Olympics as PM Narendra Modi plans talent hunt for sports where nation lacks presence and performance

Prime Minister Narendra Modi not only reiterated India’s interest in hosting the 2036 Olympics during his Independence Day speech from the Red Fort in New Delhi on Saturday, but also announced a nationwide sports talent hunt.

PM Modi stressed the need to widen India’s Olympic footprint by identifying and developing talent in sports and events where the country has traditionally had little or no presence.

"There are around 40 sports at the Olympics, with around 325 to 350 events. You will be saddened to know, my fellow countrymen, my young people, I challenge you, I appeal to you, I seek your help: India does not participate in even two-thirds of these sports. We are not present; we do not qualify.

We have decided that the 2036 Olympics should be held in India. But in 2036, in the disciplines in which India does not play today, in the disciplines in which India does not qualify, in the events that India has left aside, three-fourths of them are waiting for us. India will focus on them, and for this, we are also running a talent identification campaign.

If we need athletes for 2036, then today, a talent hunt campaign will be conducted from village to village, city to city, school to school, to identify sporting talent. We have to focus on the children between the ages of five and fifteen, on our daughters. Their abilities will be assessed, and they will then receive specialised training to develop them into good athletes who can represent the country."