At top Olympic meet, world body tells India: ‘Improve governance, anti-doping measures, sporting performance’

“It has been communicated very candidly that while India can continue preparing for its bid to host future Olympics, the country has to address these issues first. This was, in a nutshell, the big takeaway from this meeting,” an official, who was privy to discussions in the meeting, told The Indian Express.

The Indian delegation to Lausanne was headed by Gujarat’s Home and Sports Minister Harsh Sanghavi and IOA president PT Usha. It included high-ranking bureaucrats from the Central and state governments, senior IOA officials, private consultants and corporate executives.

IOA chief Usha did not respond to queries from The Indian Express about the discussions. However, in a statement after the meeting, the delegation said that it “explored the opportunity and feasibility of India hosting a future edition of the Olympic and Paralympic Games”. The statement did not specify a year but Indian officials have previously said that they hope to host the 2036 Olympics.

The official who spoke to The Indian Express underlined that the success of India’s bid would depend on how quickly the issues highlighted by the IOC are addressed. “It has been made clear to us that the IOA must get its house in order before serious talks regarding hosting the Olympics take place. That’s the starting point,” the official said.

Besides, the official said, the IOC’s decision to pause the host selection process – announced last month after its new president Kirsty Coventry took over – will give India “much-needed time to sort out all the internal issues”.

Since October 2024, the IOC has stopped its athlete welfare grants to the Indian body because of an administrative logjam. The world body has said it will not release the funds “until the situation improves”.

Usha, the first woman to head the national body, has been at loggerheads with the IOA Executive Council over a range of issues ranging from sponsorship deals to alleged financial mismanagement and the appointment of Raghuram Iyer as chief executive. This tussle, which has been going on for close to two years, has overshadowed the country’s preparations for multi-disciplinary Games.

According to the World Anti-Doping Agency’s (WADA) annual report for the year 2023 – the latest edition available – India had the highest positivity rate for banned substances among major sporting nations. Last year, a separate WADA study revealed that India was second only to Russia as the country with the most number of positive doping cases among minors. The Athletics Integrity Unit has placed India at No.2 on the list of doping offenders, after Kenya, in track and field events according to data collected till May 2025.

A Union Sports Ministry official said plans are afoot to tackle the doping menace and “hoped” that the governance problem at IOA – primarily the feud over the appointment of the CEO – will be “resolved soon”.

“We are aware of these challenges and are doing everything we can to make sure that these issues do not come in the way of our 2036 Olympics bid,” the official said.

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