India to host IOC session next year for first time in 40 years

NEW DELHI, Feb. 19 (Xinhua) — India won the right to host the 2023 International Olympic Committee’s (IOC) session in Mumbai in an unopposed race during the 139th IOC session in Beijing on Saturday.

This will be the first time in four decades and the second time overall that India hosts the IOC session after 1983 when it was last held in New Delhi.

The Indian delegation, comprised of the country’s first individual Olympic gold medallist (Beijing 2008, shooting) Abhinav Bindra, IOC member Nita Ambani, Indian Olympic Association (IOA) president Narinder Batra, and Youth Affairs and Sports minister Anurag Singh Thakur, made the presentation to IOC members during the 139th IOC session, being held alongside the ongoing Winter Olympics in Beijing.

“It is truly an honour to lead the Indian delegation today and share our passion and our ambition for hosting such a prestigious Olympic event. This will be the first IOC session in India in 40 years,” Ambani in a video statement said.

Ambani said India’s next generation is brimming with a billion hopes.

“The Olympic Movement is back to India after a 40-year wait! I am truly grateful to the International Olympic Committee for entrusting India with the honour of hosting the IOC session in Mumbai in 2023,” she said.

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