FILE - Former Indian athlete and MP P T Usha (PTI PHOTO)
AHMEDABAD — India is focussing not just on strengthening infrastructure
capabilities, but also intellectual preparedness as it eyes hosting rights for
the 2036 Olympic Games, Indian Olympic Association (IOA) president PT Usha said
on Wednesday.
The former track and field star noted India's engagement
with the quadrennial international games goes beyond competitive sports to
embrace its true spirit of promoting peace and cultural exchange.
She was addressing the 1st International Olympic Research
Conference at Rashtriya Raksha University (RRU) near Dehgam in Gandhinagar
district. The four-day conference has been organised by the Bharat Centre for
Olympic Research and Education (B-CORE) of the RRU, an institution of national
importance under the Union home ministry.
In her address, Usha said thanks to the conference,
representatives of various Olympic studies and research centres from across the
world as well as experts from diverse fields have converged in India.
"India's engagement with the Olympic movement is at
a transformative moment, one that goes beyond competitive sports to embrace the
true spirit of Olympisim -- that is promoting peace, education and cultural
exchange through sports," she insisted.
"What makes this conference significant is its
timing. As India intends to host the (2036) Olympics, we are not just
strengthening our infrastructure capabilities, but our intellectual and
research preparedness too," said the former athlete, who dominated Asian
track and field in the 1980s.
The IOA president maintained the conference will serve as
a platform where global expertise meets Indian innovation through discussion on
urban transformation, technological advancements, sustainability and inclusive
governance.
One of the main purposes of the conference is to
demonstrate India's holistic approach to sports development and its role in
societal progress, Usha emphasised.
"This gathering gave a powerful message to the
international sporting community - that is India's commitment to contributing
meaningfully to the global Olympic movement through research, innovation and
knowledge exchange," she opined.
Speaking at the opening ceremony of the 38th National
Games in Dehradun on Tuesday, Prime Minister Narendra Modi said his government
is putting all its might behind the ambitious bid to bag the hosting rights of
2036 Olympics, which will take Indian sports to new heights and create
opportunities across different sectors.
In his address at the conference, which will conclude on
January 30, IOA vice-president Ajay Patel said the conclave is a reflection of
India's evolving sporting vision.
Under the leadership of PM Modi and Union Home Minister
Amit Shah, India is transforming sports into a national mission of empowerment
and innovation, he maintained.
"Research is our most powerful tool. During the
conference, we should discuss critical questions, such as how sports
infrastructure can drive urban regeneration, what economic models can make mega
events financially sustainable and how do we ensure technological innovation
benefits people," Patel noted.
