4 min readMumbaiUpdated: Apr 24, 2026 08:44 AM IST
AFTER MAKING an aggressive pitch for the 2036 Olympics and securing the hosting rights for the 2030 Commonwealth Games (CWG), India has set its sights on the Asian Games.
Earlier this month, the Indian Olympic Association (IOA) wrote to the Olympic Council of Asia (OCA) expressing interest in hosting the Asiad in 2038 — the next available slot as the 2026 edition will take place in Aichi-Nagoya, Japan, 2030 in Doha and 2034 in Riyadh.
India’s proposal was discussed at the continental body’s Executive Board meeting in Sanya, China, on Thursday, and it was decided that the OCA’s evaluation team would visit the country to assess the bid.
IOA CEO Raghuram Iyer confirmed India’s interest and said the Olympic body had written to OCA president Sheikh Joaan bin Hamad Al Thani of Qatar earlier this month. “We are interested in bringing the Asian Games to India. We are in touch with the OCA and have written to them expressing our interest. We will be in dialogue with the OCA,” Iyer told The Indian Express.
Apart from India, South Korea and Mongolia are the other countries that have so far shown interest in hosting the 2038 Asian Games.
India hosted the first-ever Asian Games in 1951. The mega event was last held in the country in 1982. On both occasions, the Games were held in New Delhi. The 2038 bid, like the 2036 Olympics pitch, is centred around Ahmedabad — the city that will host the 2030 CWG as well.
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The Asian Games are considered larger than the Olympics in terms of the number of participating athletes, often featuring roughly 12,000 athletes compared to the around 10,500 at the Olympics. It also has a much bigger sports programme — the last Asian Games in Hangzhou, China, had 40 sports, whereas the 2024 Paris Olympics featured 32 sports.
An official, requesting anonymity, said hosting the Asian Games in 2038 was a logical step as the costs would be significantly reduced, given the ongoing investment in sporting and civic infrastructure in Ahmedabad and other parts of Gujarat.
“Ahmedabad will already have a lot of venues ready in the next three to four years. These venues are being built to foster a sporting culture. If India wins the bid to host the 2036 Olympics, the Asian Games will be the perfect legacy event as most of the venues can be reused for that,” the official said. “And, by any chance, if India does not get the 2036 Olympics, hosting the 2038 Asiad would mean that the infrastructure would be put to good use, and at the same time, the country can gain enough hosting experience to aim for future Olympics.”
The Gujarat government has begun large-scale construction of sports venues in Ahmedabad and Gandhinagar, largely as a part of the 2036 Olympics bid. The Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel (SVP) Sports Enclave, a 355-acre area adjacent to the Narendra Modi Stadium in Ahmedabad, and Karai Sports Hub, with a site area of 143 acres augmented by the reclaimed riverfront in Gandhinagar, are likely to be the main Games hubs as per the proposal.
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The SVP Sports Enclave will house the Narendra Modi Stadium, a multi-purpose indoor arena, aquatics and tennis centres as permanent venues. In Karai, an athletics stadium is being constructed along with a shooting complex and an indoor arena.
The 2030 CWG, meanwhile, will take place across multiple other venues, including the Veer Savarkar Sports Complex, Eka Arena and the Narendra Modi Stadium. Some sports are expected to take place in Vadodara, Gandhinagar and Ekta Nagar.
Apart from the CWG, India is also scheduled to host the 2028 World Indoor Athletics Championships. However, that event will be held in Bhubaneswar.
© The Indian Express Pvt Ltd
