Olympics dream fires Modi: Target 2024

The Olympics dream seems to have smitten India’s Prime Minister Narendra Modi. The Modi government and National Olympic body have invited International Olympic Committee (IOC) chief Dr Thomas Bach for a meeting with Mr Modi to discuss the development of sports in the country and possible bid by New Delhi for the 2024 Olympic Games.

This will be the first time Mr Bach visits India after becoming the IOC president. The date of the meeting has been tentatively fixed on April 27. India’s Sports Secretary Ajit Sharan and IOA President N. Ramachandran handed the invitation to Dr Bach, a former Olympian from Germany, at the IOC headquarter in Lausanne, Switzerland.

Mr Ramachandran confirmed the meeting between Mr Bach and Mr Modi later this month. However, he refused to comment on India’s probable bid for the Olympic Games 2024.

“The IOA and the Government of India have invited IOC chief Dr. Thomas Bach for a meeting with the honorable Prime Minister of India in the last week of this month to discuss about the development of sports in India,” Mr Ramachandran said.

India can bid for the 2024 Olympic Games till September 2015, and the process of sending the “expression of interest” to the Olympic committee has already begun in January 2015, said informed sources.

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