Strategising Preparation
Indian Olympic Association to ensure maximum participation and medals from the Indian athletes in next year's Tokyo Olympics
In the last 24 Olympic Games that India have participated so far since 1900, only 28 medals have been won by the country which now has a population of more than 1.3 billion. Of these, nine were gold, six silver and 11 bronze medals. However, despite our poor performance in the last edition of the prestigious quadrennial event, one can hope that India will be able to win a good number of medals at the 2020 Olympic Games slated to be held in Tokyo, Japan.
To address the concern, a high level 10-member committee has been constituted on Friday under the chairmanship of Sports Minister, Kiren Rijiju, to coordinate and strategise the preparation for the 2020 and 2024 Olympics. The objective of the committee is to ensure that the performance of the Indian athletes are optimised in the Olympics and other multidisciplinary events.
The committee comprises prominent sportspersons like Olympic medallists – tennis ace Leander Paes and shooter Gagan Narang. Other prominent names in the committee include Secretary of Department of Sports Radhey Shyam Julaniya, IOA President Narinder Batra, IOA Secretary General Rajeev Mehta, President of Indian Athletics Federation Adille Sumariwalla and Boxing Federation of India chief Ajay Singh among others
The aim of the committee for the Tokyo Games would be to provide all possible support to potential and qualified athletes, facilitating smooth logistical arrangements for participation of the Indian athletes, ensuring seamless acclimatisation and hospitable environment for the contingent.
For the 2024 Paris Games, the committee would chart out a road-map for the preparation and then will continuously review and suggest course correction whenever required. It will also prepare a strategy for bidding of multidisciplinary sporting events in future.
"India must start winning medals in 'double digits' in the upcoming Olympic Games if it wants to realise the dream of hosting the 2032 Summer Games. We can target 10 to 12 medals in Tokyo, 25 in 2024 and around 40 in 2028 Olympics", said Indian Olympic Association President, Narinder Batra.
