Media365
New Delhi: The Indian Olympic Association (IOA) and its affiliated national sports federations (NSFs) projected a united front in approving the country’s bid for the Commonwealth Games in 2030, with Ahmedabad, Delhi and Bhubaneswar emerging as the possible host cities. The IOA, following a government-engineered truce between the sports body’s president PT Usha and 12 of its Executive Council (EC) members, held a “cordial” Special General Body Meeting (SGBM) here on Wednesday to “…approve bid to Commonwealth Sports for hosting the 2030 CWG in India”. After the SGBM, which lasted a mere 30 minutes, Usha informed the media that the decision to host the Games was passed by a ‘voice vote’ (no dissent) with NSFs showing both “willingness and preparedness” to provide assistance to IOA. “I am happy that it was a unanimous decision. We can’t just say whether Ahmedabad is the host city. We have good facilities in Bhubaneswar and even in Delhi, which can host the Games. The Glasgow CWG in 2026 is a scaled down Games because of circumstances. If we get the 2030 CWG, it will be a full-fledged one just like we did in 2010,” Usha said. TOI had earlier reported that field hockey, badminton, table tennis, shooting, wrestling, women’s cricket, squash and archery disciplines will be added to the Games programme for India edition. Indigenous and traditional sports such as yogasana, kho kho and kabaddi will also make their debut.
