Working to make India’s bid to host 2036 summer Olympics successful: Sports Secretary

New Delhi, July 12: India is working to make its bid to host the 2036 Olympics successful, Union Sports Secretary Sujata Chaturvedi said on Friday.

“As all of you are aware, the Hon’ble Prime Minister Narendra Modi has expressed India’s wish to host the 2036 summer Olympics. We are working towards making the bid successful,” she said in her address to the inaugural session of the sports tech startup conclave organised by IIT Madras’ Centre of Excellence in Sports Science and Analytics (CESSA), in New Delhi.

“We have to not only work hard but all of us have to work together to make India a sporting giant in the world. We are hopeful that IITM CESSA will pave the way for a culture of innovation in sports,” she added.

The first-of-its-kind event aims to boost indigenisation and technology support for Atmanirbhar Bharat in the sports sector.

The Sports Secretary noted that the event will be a great help in bringing together all the people who are interested in furthering sports in India and sports technology.

Further, she stressed the need to make India a giant in sports tech, as it is in the pharmaceutical and IT sectors.

“I am a firm believer in Aatmanirbhar Bharat and I am sure India will develop indigenous technology in sports,” she said.

She also noted that Covid caused a “tectonic shift” in outdoor sports which led to the emergence of “e-Sports”.

“This is an exciting time to be in sports, especially with the Paris Olympics set to start in a few days. Over 115 young men and women are going to represent India in the Paris Olympics. Immediately after that, is the Paralympics and we are looking at two months of exciting sports. The opportunities for players in the sports tech space are immense and the work that IITM is doing in this space is commendable,” Chaturvedi said.

Meanwhile, the two-day conclave (July 12-13) aims to promote technology for various sports goods manufacturing players in India for specific products and services indigenisation.

The event will feature 10 novel sports tech start-ups ranging from unique apps leveraging vision to improve cricket training sessions, India-specific athlete management systems, and unique sports learning platform/module developers who will present their business in front of an eminent panel of judges.

They will be supported by the IIT Madras’ Centre of Excellence in Sports Science and Analytics (CESSA), with an investment of Rs 5 crore via IIT Madras Pravartak Technologies with incubation support as well.

Over the next five years, IIT Madras aims to incubate at least 200 sports technology start-ups from India with novel ideas.