Hooper: Too soon for Indian Olympic bid 04/11/2010 |
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Commonwealth Games Federation chief executive Mike Hooper has cast doubt on whether India is ready to host the Olympic Games despite insisting that Delhi 2010 was a success.
The build up to this year’s Commonwealth Games in the Indian capital was hit by allegations of corruption, fears over security, and concerns about the standard of accommodation at the athletes’ village and the late completion of venues.
It was thought by many that the problems had left India’s plans to host the 2020 Olympics in ruins, but International Olympic Committee president Jacques Rogge has suggested he would support an Indian bid should it be forthcoming.
However, Hooper said: "Speaking purely from a personal level, I think there is a bit more work to be done in India and in terms of the range of sports they can host before they take the step towards 2020.
"There are a lot of changes that they need to make but it's a good illustration of how they can change for the better.
"The reality was that the main problem with an emerging nation hosting a major sporting event is infrastructure.
"We were excited to take the Games to a new country and take it away from the bigger countries such as Australia, Canada and the UK.
"We have 71 nations within the Commonwealth Games Federation and so from an emerging nation's perspective, it was very exciting – and so we're pleased to hear Sri Lanka are interested in bidding.
"But we saw that all the challenges [in Delhi] were with infrastructure, and then during the Games, from an operational point of view."
While Hooper does not think that an Indian city is ready to bid for the Olympics, he feels Delhi 2010 left a positive legacy in the world's second most populous country.
"If you look at the velodrome, we had problems with that and at one stage we were wondering if it would get there in the first place but now look at it," he added.
"The legacy is apparent because it was the biggest competition in Delhi's history and the closing ceremony leaves a lasting image.
"And I think that if you were to ask the athletes, they would say that they enjoyed the Games."
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