India has announced plans to bid for the 2030 Commonwealth Games, in a move seen as part of a broader strategy to host the 2036 Olympic Games.
“Our preparations will go ahead,” Indian Olympic Association (IOA) president PT Usha said following a meeting on Wednesday, according to local media reports.
New Delhi, which hosted the 2010 Commonwealth Games amid delays, infrastructure issues, and allegations of corruption, is under consideration as a potential host city. Bhubaneswar, in the eastern state of Odisha, is another option, while Indian media suggest Ahmedabad – in Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s home state of Gujarat – could be favoured. Ahmedabad is home to a 130,000-seater stadium, the world’s largest cricket venue, which hosted the 2023 Cricket World Cup final.
India submitted a formal letter of intent last year to the International Olympic Committee for the 2036 Olympics. The country has previously hosted cricket World Cups and the Asian Games twice, and will co-host the Women’s Cricket World Cup in September.
Several other nations, including Nigeria, have expressed interest in staging the Commonwealth Games, which struggled to find a replacement host for 2026 after Victoria in Australia withdrew, citing costs. Glasgow stepped in to hold a scaled-down edition.
Following IOA approval, India has until the end of August to submit its formal bid, with the final decision expected in November in Glasgow.
If successful, India has pledged a “full-fledged” Commonwealth Games, featuring all sports in which the country excels and has strong medal prospects. IOA executive council member Rohit Rajpal told the Times of India: “We will have all the sports we are good at and have a chance of winning maximum medals.”
This could include traditional Indian sports such as kabaddi and kho kho, which the country is campaigning to see included in the Olympics. Despite its population of 1.4 billion, India’s Olympic record remains modest, with only ten gold medals won in its history.