Athletics: Huge boost! India receive official recommendation to host 2030 Commonwealth Games
Ahmedabad set to land 2030 Commonwealth Games
On Wednesday, the Executive Board of Commonwealth Sport dropped a huge bombshell by announcing that it will recommend Ahmedabad to host the 2030 Centenary Commonwealth Games.
From here, the Gujarat city will be put forward for consideration to the Commonwealth Sports membership committee, who are expected to pass a final decision over the hosting rights on November 26 in Glasgow, Scotland.
Their main rival to host the global spectacle is believed to be Nigeria, though reports suggest that India is the front-runner due to their infrastructure, such as the Narendra Modi Stadium, which is the largest in the world with a capacity of 132,000, and already hosted the Cricket World Cup final.
If India is chosen, it will be the second time the nation will be hosting the event, having done so in 2010 in Delhi. Speaking to the media, Dr PT Usha, president of the Commonwealth Association of India, said:
"We see the 2030 Games as a powerful opportunity to inspire our youth, strengthen international partnerships and contribute to a shared future across the Commonwealth.”
All indicators to this point suggest that India will be handed the honour of staging one of the world’s biggest sporting events, with Nigeria being lined up to host the first-ever Africa Games in 2034.
Commonwealth Games hosting to open doors for Olympics in India?
While the primary focus for India right now is to secure the hosting rights for the 2030 Commonwealth Games, there are much wider implications at play as well, with the nation also pushing to bring the 2036 Olympics to their shores.
However, unlike the Commonwealth Games, there are several big players also in the running for the 2036 Olympics, including the likes of Qatar, Istanbul and Hungary, while Germany and Saudi Arabia have also signalled their interest.
Additionally, the ongoing doping problems among athletes in India are a major concern to the IOC. In the last year alone, a total of 260 national and international athletes have tested positive for using performance-enhancing substances.
Still, if India are able to secure the Commonwealth Games and do a good job of hosting the event, they will put themselves firmly in the eyeline of IOC president Kirsty Coventry, who had paused the host city bidding process in July in response to members’ request to have more involvement in the selection procedure.
