Decision on India's 2038 Asiad bid by 2028: OCA

The fate of India's bid for the 2038 Asian Games hosting rights will not be known before 2028, the Olympic Council Asia (OCA) said on Friday revealing that five other countries are also in fray for the same edition.In April, India had officially submitted its Expression of interest (EOI) to host the 2038 Asian Games, marking a significant step in the country's broader strategy to become a global hub for major multi-sporting events. India is also bidding for the 2036 Olympics and is hosting the 2030 Commonwealth Games in Ahmedabad.The OCA had earlier discussed India's EOI at its executive board meeting on April 21 in the Chinese city of Sanya during the Asian Beach Games."We have received interest from India, from Philippines and from other four countries to host the Asian Games in 2038. This shows the popularity of the Asian Games," OCA Director General Husain Al-Musallam said at a press conference before the official opening of the Asian Games in Nagoya."There are 12 more years to go. The calendar is well-established. The executive board has taken a decision to create an evaluation committee to visit all those (bidding) countries next year and then submit initial report. "Based on the initial report, we will have a short list and then go for another visit nine or 10 years before 2038 and then submit the final report (recommending the host)."Doha will host the 2030 Asian Games while Saudi Arabian capital Riyadh will stage the 2034 edition of the sporting extravaganza.Both the 2030 and 2034 editions of the Asian Games were awarded together in 2020 . The 2026 edition is being held in Aichi Nagoya from September 19 to October 4.South Korea was the first country to have expressed its interest to host the 2038 edition of the Asian Games, way back in 2021, with Gwangju and Daegu as the proposed cities.Mongolia has also reportedly expressed its interest to bid for the 2038 edition but it is not known whether it has submitted an official EOI to the OCA.India last hosted an Asian Games in 1982 in New Delhi. The national capital was also the venue of the inaugural Asian Games in 1951.Asian Games, competed among 45 nations of the continent, is the largest multi-sport event in the world with more than 10,000 athletes taking part in it, which is bigger than the Olympics in terms of the number of participating athletes and number of sports.The last Asian Games in Hangzhou in 2023 saw more than 11,000 athletes competing in 40 sports. The upcoming 20th edition features 11,000 athletes and 6000 support staff.