India faces major test in 2036 Olympic race

Following the confirmation of seven countries interested in hosting the Summer Games, the Asian giant must demonstrate to the International Olympic Committee that its infrastructure, investment and sporting reforms provide a credible foundation for its bid.在七个有意举办夏季奥运会的国家得到确认后，这个亚洲大国必须向国际奥林匹克委员会证明，其基础设施、投资以及体育改革能为申办工作提供可靠的基础。

With Ahmedabad at the heart of its bid, India faces competition from Germany, Qatar, Hungary, Türkiye, South Africa and South Korea, a diverse field that includes former Olympic hosts and countries with experience of staging major events, such as the 2022 FIFA World Cup in Qatar. The field could yet grow, as the IOC will continue accepting new expressions of interest until 31 October.以艾哈迈达巴德为申办核心，印度面临着来自德国、卡塔尔、匈牙利、土耳其、南非和韩国的竞争，这一申办阵营构成复杂，既包含前奥运会举办国，也有具备举办大型赛事经验的国家，比如2022年卡塔尔世界杯的举办国。国际奥委会将持续接收新的申办意向，直至10月31日，申办阵营的规模仍有可能进一步扩大。

With its main rivals now identified, the Indian Olympic Association took another step forward on Wednesday in the bid it has been pursuing since 2024 by unveiling 'Rising Together', a vision intended to make the Games a catalyst for greater sports participation and opportunities in education and employment. "For us, 'Rising Together' is not simply a slogan—it is a powerful commitment to unite India's energy, ambition and diversity behind a shared Olympic dream," said its president, PT Usha, outlining a proposal that also seeks to help the Olympic Movement reach new generations and communities around the world.在确定主要竞争对手后，印度奥林匹克协会于周三迈出了又一步伐，推进其自2024年以来一直致力于的申办工作，正式发布了“同心共进”</b>这一愿景，旨在让奥运会成为推动体育参与度提升以及创造教育和就业机会的催化剂。印度奥林匹克协会主席P·T·乌莎</b>表示：“对我们而言，‘同心共进’绝非一句简单的口号——它是一项强有力的承诺，旨在凝聚印度的活力、雄心与多元性，共同追逐奥林匹克的共同梦想。”她还阐述了一项提案，该提案也旨在助力奥林匹克运动触达全球新一代人群与社区。

Backed by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, the country's ambitions extend beyond staging a major sporting event to a broader vision of social development, as Sports Minister Mansukh Mandaviya emphasised. "Hosting the Olympic and Paralympic Games would inspire millions of young Indians to participate in sport," he said. That ambition must also translate into infrastructure, funding and organisational guarantees capable of meeting the IOC's requirements.印度体育部长曼苏克·曼达维亚强调，在总理纳伦德拉·莫迪的支持下，印度的雄心不止于举办一场大型体育赛事，更着眼于更广泛的社会发展愿景。他表示：“举办奥运会和残奥会将激励数百万印度年轻人参与体育运动。”这一雄心还必须落实到能够满足国际奥委会（IOC）要求的基础设施、资金和组织保障上。

That vision is beginning to take shape in Ahmedabad, where the Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel Sports Enclave, estimated to cost ₹5,050 crore (€465 million), is planned around the Narendra Modi Stadium as the centrepiece of the city's sporting transformation. According to The Times of India, the complex will include a 12,000-seat aquatics centre, an 18,000-seat tennis centre and several indoor arenas for different sports, under a wider plan covering 22 competition venues in Ahmedabad and neighbouring Gandhinagar for the 2030 Commonwealth Games.这一愿景在艾哈迈达巴德正逐渐成形。耗资预计达5050亿印度卢比（4.65亿欧元）的萨达尔·瓦拉巴伊·帕特尔体育园区，将以纳伦德拉·莫迪体育场为核心，成为这座城市体育转型的标志性工程。据《印度时报》报道，该体育园区将包含一座拥有12000个座位的水上运动中心、一座18000个座位的网球中心，以及多座用于各类运动的室内体育馆。这是一项更宏大计划的一部分，该计划将为2030年英联邦运动会在艾哈迈达巴德及周边的甘地纳格尔市规划22个比赛场馆。

The Indian newspaper reported that the Naranpura sports complex was already operational, at a reported cost of ₹825 crore (€76m), while a 50,000-seat athletics stadium and a shooting centre were under construction in Karai. Authorities in Gujarat aim to complete the main facilities by the end of 2029.印度媒体报道称，纳兰普拉体育中心已投入运营，据报道造价为82.5亿印度卢比（7600万欧元），而卡拉伊一座可容纳5万名观众的田径体育场和一个射击中心正在建设中。古吉拉特邦当局的目标是在2029年底前完成主要设施建设。

The city's development will have to extend well beyond sporting venues, with the proposed Olympic Village comprising 2,191 apartments designed to accommodate more than 17,500 athletes, while hotel capacity remains a significant challenge. Ahmedabad had around 5,400 rooms in star-rated hotels in July and aimed to expand its hotel capacity to 40,000 rooms ahead of the 2030 Commonwealth Games, against an estimated Olympic requirement of close to 100,000.这座城市的发展将不得不远远延伸至体育场馆之外，拟建的奥运村包含2191套公寓，旨在容纳17500多名运动员，而酒店接待能力仍是一项重大挑战。2024年7月，艾哈迈达巴德的星级酒店约有5400间客房，其目标是在2030年英联邦运动会前将酒店接待能力扩大至4万间，而奥运会的预计需求则接近10万间。

Transport presents a similar challenge, with regional officials aiming to keep journeys between accommodation, venues and training centres to no more than 30 minutes through metro extensions, new roads and a proposed fleet of 3,000 electric buses. The plans also include around €48m for a 'Sports City', of which some €24m would be allocated to 11 sports complexes, while Ahmedabad's draft municipal budget for 2026-27 earmarked ₹17,018 crore (€1.57bn) for development, mobility, sustainability and urban planning projects.交通方面也面临类似挑战，当地官员计划通过地铁延伸线路、新建道路以及规划一支3000辆电动公交车队，将住宿地、场馆与培训中心之间的行程时间控制在30分钟以内。该规划还包含约4800万欧元用于建设“体育城”，其中约2400万欧元将投入11个体育综合体的建设。而艾哈迈达巴德2026-2027财年的市政预算草案中，已为发展、交通、可持续发展和城市规划类项目预留了17018亿印度卢比（合15.7亿欧元）的资金。

The scale of the undertaking makes it essential to distinguish projected costs from funding already committed. The Times of India put the estimated organising budget at between ₹18,557 crore (€1.71bn) and ₹41,031 crore (€3.78bn), while projected infrastructure spending ranges from ₹16,060 crore (€1.48bn) to ₹22,878 crore (€2.11bn). Private-sector involvement is also envisaged for the Olympic Village and the broadcast centre. Gujarat's Deputy Chief Minister, Harsh Sanghavi, advocated an approach focused on the long-term use of the facilities. "We are adopting an asset utilisation model rather than a traditional ROI-based recovery approach", he told the newspaper.这项工程的规模之大，使得区分预计成本与已承诺资金至关重要。《印度时报》称，预计组织预算在18557亿印度卢比（17.1亿欧元）至41031亿印度卢比（37.8亿欧元）之间，而预计的基础设施支出则在16060亿印度卢比（14.8亿欧元）至22878亿印度卢比（2.11亿欧元）之间。奥运村和广播中心也计划引入私营部门参与。古吉拉特邦副首席部长哈什·桑加维主张采用一种注重设施长期使用的模式。他告诉该报：“我们采用的是资产利用模式，而非传统的基于投资回报率的回收模式。”

India's Olympic preparations also extend to staging international competitions, designed to build organisational experience, train specialist staff and put facilities to the test. Over the summer, the Ministry of Youth Affairs and Sports announced 29 new events, adding to the 36 held since 2025 across 15 cities, with a target of reaching 65 by 2028, when Bhubaneswar will host the World Athletics Indoor Championships.印度的奥运筹备工作还延伸到举办国际赛事，这些赛事旨在积累组织经验、培训专业人员并对场馆设施进行测试。今年夏天，青年事务与体育部宣布新增29项赛事，使得2025年以来在15个城市举办的赛事总数达到36项，目标是到2028年达到65项，届时布巴内斯瓦尔将举办世界室内田径锦标赛。

The expanding international calendar has not, however, eliminated the shortcomings acknowledged by India's own authorities. In a written parliamentary reply in 2025, Mandaviya confirmed that sports governance, anti-doping measures and India's performance at previous Olympic Games had been raised during talks with the IOC. The bid also carries the legacy of organisational problems at the 2010 New Delhi Commonwealth Games and internal disputes within the IOA. To address these challenges, the government has pursued sports governance reforms, while the association announced an anti-doping education programme.不过，不断扩充的国际赛事日程并未消除印度官方自身也承认的种种弊端。2025年，曼达维亚在一份书面议会答复中证实，印度奥委会与国际奥委会的会谈中已提及体育治理、反兴奋剂措施以及印度在往届奥运会上的表现问题。此次申办还背负着2010年新德里英联邦运动会组织问题的遗留弊端，以及印度奥林匹克协会内部的纷争。为应对这些挑战，印度政府推行了体育治理改革，印度奥林匹克协会也宣布推出反兴奋剂教育计划。

In terms of sporting performance, India's 41 Olympic medals since 1900, including seven at the Tokyo Games and six at Paris 2024, illustrate the gap between its record and its ambition to become a global sporting powerhouse. "We have the mission to become a sporting superpower", IOA Chief Executive Officer Raghuram Iyer told Reuters. India finished fourth at the Glasgow 2026 Commonwealth Games with 39 medals, including 13 golds.从体育成绩来看，印度自1900年以来已斩获41枚奥运会奖牌，其中东京奥运会收获7枚、2024年巴黎奥运会拿下6枚，这一成绩与该国打造全球体育强国的雄心之间仍存在差距。印度奥林匹克协会首席执行官拉古拉姆·耶尔告诉路透社：“我们的目标是成为体育超级大国。”在2026年格拉斯哥英联邦运动会上，印度以39枚奖牌（含13枚金牌）位列第四。

India intends to use the 2030 Commonwealth Games in Ahmedabad as a test of its organisational capabilities, but the event will take place after the IOC has already chosen the 2036 Olympic host. Under the IOC's timetable, interested countries will present their projects virtually to the Future Host Commission in November. The IOC Executive Board will make an initial selection in March 2027 and choose the Preferred Hosts in December 2028, ahead of the final vote scheduled for mid-2029. India will therefore have to prove its readiness before what it sees as its main organisational rehearsal has even taken place.印度计划将2030年艾哈迈达巴德英联邦运动会作为对自身组织能力的一次测试，但该赛事举办时，国际奥委会已选定2036年奥运会的主办国。根据国际奥委会的时间表，有意申办的国家将于11月向未来主办委员会线上提交申办方案。国际奥委会执行委员会将在2027年3月进行初步筛选，并于2028年12月确定意向主办国，之后于2029年年中进行最终投票。因此，印度必须在这场其视为主要组织彩排的赛事举办之前，就证明自己已具备承办能力。