Union Sports Minister Kiren Rijiju bats for hosting Olympics in India

NEW DELHI: Sports Minister Kiren Rijiju on Friday pitched for hosting the Summer Olympics in the future, saying the Olympic movement is not complete till India hosts an edition of the quadrennial sporting extravaganza.

During a virtual conference organised by the Conference of Indian Industry, the 6th CII Scorecard, Rijiju complimented United Kingdom for hosting the Olympics on three occasions.

He said to establish itself as a sporting powerhouse, India has to host the Olympics in future.

"India hasn't claimed its rightful place in sports. The Olympics is the biggest event in sports. London has hosted three Olympics, Tokyo has already hosted an Olympics in 1964 before the one scheduled for this year.

"The Olympic movement is not complete till India hosts an Olympic Games. We are taking this very seriously," the Minister said during his keynote address.

On the occasion, Rijiju also highlighted his ministry's two big initiatives -- the Khelo India and Fit India programmes.

He appealed to corporates to launch the Fit India movement in their offices.

Rijiju also appealed to the business fraternity to help in making sports a vibrant industry in India.

"Sports is a big industry, if we really take it forward, it can become a big part of India's Gross Domestic Product (GDP), sports can give big direction to our youth. The CII can play a role in making sports a vibrant industry. The industry can set a target of what should be the share of sports in GDP," he said.

"After the lockdown, tournaments have resumed across the world and they are happening successfully.

"We have the Shooting World Cup in Delhi later this month and the Badminton Super Series is scheduled for May this year. I want to tell the industry to contribute through Corporate Social Responsibility for organising international events in India.

Rijiju was joined in the conference by his UK counterpart Nigel Huddlestone, Parliamentary Under Secretary of State in Sport, Tourism and Heritage.