Indian Olympic Association (IOA) President PT Usha on Tuesday insisted that its commitment to host the 2036 Summer Games “remained steadfast” despite the “internal challenges” her organisation has been facing due to her feud with the Executive Council members. Usha has been engaging in a raging fight with 12 EC members who have refused to ratify the appointment of Raghuram Iyer as the IOA CEO made by her in January. “Despite some internal challenges within the IOA, our commitment to hosting the 2036 Summer Games remains steadfast. The IOA remained in continuous contact with the IOC and I am optimistic that India will be viewed as a gracious host,” Usha said in a video sent by her office.

India has submitted a ‘Letter of Intent’, expressing its desire to host the 2036 Olympic and Paralympic Games, to the International Olympic Committee’s Future Host Commission, taking the first concrete step in an ambitious plan after months of informal dialogue with the IOC.

The letter was submitted by the IOA on October 1, according to a source in the sports ministry.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi had first talked about his government’s aspiration to host the 2036 Olympics last year.

“During the IOC session last year, our PM Narendra Modi put forward his vision of India hosting the Summer Olympics and Paralympics in 2036. Since then we have maintained regular communication with the IOC president Thomas Bach and the officials of the Future Host Commission,” Usha said.

“We are also engaged in a productive discussion with the IOC during the Paris Olympics. Our officials attended the executive programme and observer programme organised by the IOC during Paris Olympics.

“These interactions and learnings led to the submission of our letter of intent to host the 2036 Games in India in the early October this year.” A decision on the host will not be taken before the IOC elections next year and India will also have to face competition from several other nations like Saudi Arabia, Qatar and Turkey, who are positioning themselves as strong contenders to host the sporting spectacle.

However, with the submission of a ‘Letter of Intent’, the nation has progressed from “Informal Dialogue” to the “Continuous Dialogue” stage of the host election process.

In this stage, the IOC conducts a “feasibility study” of the progress of projects associated with the Games in the potential host.

The next phase of the process would be “Targetted Dialogue”, which would require the submission of an edition-specific formal bid, which would be assessed by the Future Host Commission.

The process would finally end with a host election.

The Indian Olympic Association (IOA) president Dr PT Usha on Sunday clarified that the responsibility of weight management of athletes in sport like wrestling, weightlifting, boxing and judo is that of each athlete and his or her coach and not that of the IOA-appointed Chief Medical Officer Dr Dinshaw Pardiwala and his team. Dr Usha said that each Indian athlete in the Paris 2024 Olympic Games in such sport had his or her own support team. These support teams have been working with the athletes over so many years, as per a statement from IOA.

The IOA appointed a medical team a couple of months ago, primarily as a team that would assist in the recovery and injury management of athletes during and after their competition. This team was also designed to support athletes who did not have their own team of nutritionists and physiotherapists.

Dr Usha said that the hate directed at the IOA medical team, especially Dr Pardiwala, is unacceptable and worthy of condemnation. She expressed hope that those rushing to judge the IOA medical team would consider all the facts before arriving at any conclusions.

This statement comes after Indian wrestler Vinesh Phogat was disqualified from the women’s 50 kg final as she breached the weight limit ahead of the title clash.

Notably, the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) has extended the deadline for delivering its verdict on whether to award a silver medal to Vinesh Phogat, who was disqualified from the Paris Olympics, till Tuesday, August 13.

According to a statement from the Indian Olympic Association (IOA), CAS has extended the time for the final verdict till Tuesday, August 13, 6:00 PM Paris time and 9:30 PM IST.

“The ad hoc division of CAS has extended time for the Sole Arbitrator Hon Dr Annabelle Bennett in the Vinesh Phogat vs. United World Wrestling & the International Olympic Committee matter to give a decision till 6-00 p.m. on August 13, 2024,” the IOA said in its statement on Saturday.

The reference to August 11 (Sunday) in the earlier communication sent by IOA was for the time given to all parties to present any additional documents before the sole arbitrator.

Reacting to the extension, Indian wrestling legend Mahavir Phogat, Vinesh’s uncle, said, “It has been three days since we have been waiting. Whenever the decision is out, we will be happy.”

Phogat, who had been disqualified from the Paris Olympics final for slightly exceeding the weight limit, announced her retirement from wrestling following the incident. She had reached the gold medal match by defeating Cuba’s Yusneylis Guzman Lopez 5-0 in the semi-finals. She was set to face Sarah Ann Hildebrandt of the United States for the gold but was disqualified for the weight limit breach. Earlier in the tournament, Phogat achieved a significant victory by beating Tokyo 2020 champion Yui Susaki of Japan in the round of 16.

Following her disqualification, Phogat requested CAS to award her the silver medal.

CAS has established an ad hoc division in Paris, led by President Michael Lenard from the US, to handle Olympic cases. This division operates within the Paris judicial court in the 17th arrondissement.

In an emotional post on X announcing her retirement, Phogat expressed her sense of gratitude. “Maa kushti (wrestling) won against me, I lost. Forgive me, your dream and my courage have been broken. I don’t have any more strength now. Goodbye Wrestling 2001-2024. I will always be indebted to you all for forgiveness.”

In her distinguished career, Vinesh secured two World Championships bronze medals (2019 and 2022), an Asian Games gold (2018) and bronze (2014), and three Commonwealth Games gold medals (2014, 2018, 2022). She also won gold in the Asian Championships (2021) and has earned silver and bronze at the continental level.

Indian contingent at the Paris Olympics 2024 opening ceremony© AFP