IOC Session in India: 'Would be a dream of mine', Neeraj Chopra wants to see Olympics being hosted in India in future

Tokyo Olympics gold medallist Neeraj Chopra believes that the upcoming International Olympic Committee (IOC) Session in Mumbai would help India in firmly establishing itself on the global sporting map.

Also read: Who will attend the IOC Session? Top agenda of the meeting

Mumbai is set to host India’s first IOC Session in 40 years, with New Delhi being the last city to have hosted it, in 1983. The event will be held at the Jio World Convention Centre in Mumbai.

CNN-News18's @ShivaniGupta_5 spoke to star athlete Neeraj Chopra (@Neeraj_chopra1) and cricket legend Yuvraj Singh (@YUVSTRONG12) about the IOC session being held in India @ridhimb | #IOC #NeerajChopra #YuvrajSingh pic.twitter.com/fzXHSqI8iy

— News18 (@CNNnews18) October 12, 2023

This will be the 141^st IOC session overall. Apart from opening up doors for developing sporting infrastructure in India, the IOC Session will act as an important step towards India’s dream of hosting the 2036 Summer Olympics.

Also read: How India won the hosting rights for 141st International Olympic Committee Session

“It is a big deal that IOC would host a session here in India, with so many esteemed personalities, and would come together to discuss about the growth of sports in India as well. I believe that this will help in putting India on the global map, and will bring awareness to our capabilities in the field of sport and what we can achieve as a nation. So, in that sense, I think this session will prove to be extremely helpful for India,” Neeraj Chopra told CNN- News18 in an exclusive interview.

Neeraj Chopra won gold in men’s javelin throw competition as India clinched a record 107 medals at the recently-concluded 2023 Asian Games in Hangzhou.

“I believe that another good thing that would arise from the same happening would be witnessing our Indian athletes bring in more medals for the country in that case. It is also personally a dream of mine to see the Olympics be hosted here in India itself. It would be a joyous occasion,” Chopra added.

Yuvraj Singh, former India batter, was also optimistic of India’s chances of hosting the Olympics in the future.

“I think we have all the means, and I’m sure that with the way our infrastructure (for sports) is growing, we can definitely host the Olympics in the coming years,” Yuvraj told News18.

The IOC Executive Board approved for cricket’s inclusion in the 2028 Los Angeles Olympics, and will be only the second time cricket will be part of an Olympic Games edition. The only time cricket was included in the Olympics previously was in the 1900 Summer Olympics which was hosted by Paris.

Yuvraj said cricket’s inclusion for the Olympics should have happened at least a couple of years back.

“Well, that should have been done a couple of years ago. I don’t know why it hasn’t happened till now. But, it would be great if it did happen. Soon, India will be a big contender to win an Olympic gold in cricket,”  added the 41-year-old.