India’s formal push to host the 2036 Olympic Games is no longer a symbolic aspiration.
It marks a decisive shift in how the country views sport not as episodic success driven by individual brilliance, but as a long-term national project rooted in governance reform, institutional accountability, and performance science. What has emerged over the past year is a detailed roadmap that attempts to answer a fundamental question: Can India transform itself into a consistent global sporting power by 2036 and beyond?
At the heart of this vision is the acknowledgment that infrastructure alone will not deliver medals. As articulated by the Ministry of Youth Affairs and Sports, the athletes who could compete in 2036 are currently in primary school, making early identification, structured development, and professional governance non-negotiable.
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Unlike earlier Olympic cycles where success was framed vaguely, India’s new strategy is driven by clear medal benchmarks. According to Sports Secretary Hari Ranjan Rao, the aim is to finish inside the global top 10 by 2036 and push further into the top five by 2048.
For the 2036 Games, India has set a target of 12–14 gold medals and 30–35 total medals, a significant leap from Paris 2024, where India finished with six medals and no golds. The longer-term vision for 2048 is even more ambitious around 100 total medals, placing India alongside sporting superpowers like the USA and China.
This approach borrows from the well-documented host-nation effect, where countries traditionally experience a sharp performance surge when hosting the Olympics. But Indian policymakers are clear: hosting can only amplify strength that already exists—it cannot manufacture it overnight.
Adapting the “Project 119” Model
A key pillar of India’s strategy is adapting China’s famous Project 119, which helped transform the host nation’s fortunes ahead of the Beijing 2008 Olympics. China targeted medal-rich sports where it had historically underperformed and invested deeply in them.
India’s version focuses on high-yield disciplines such as athletics, swimming, rowing, kayaking, and sailing sports that offer multiple medal opportunities but require scientific training, long-term athlete development, and technical expertise. Traditionally, India has leaned heavily on a narrow cluster of sports like shooting, wrestling, and boxing. That model, officials now concede, is insufficient for top-10 Olympic status.
Measurement-based sports particularly swimming and track are being prioritised, with an emphasis on early screening, biomechanical assessment, and structured progression rather than short-term competition success.
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Perhaps the most striking self-assessment comes from participation numbers. At Paris 2024, India fielded just over 110 athletes, while the USA sent nearly 600 and China over 400. Medal tallies mirrored this disparity. The Los Angeles 2028 Olympics has been identified as a crucial checkpoint. With 353 medal events across 36 sports, India aims to significantly expand participation, especially in sports returning or debuting at the Games such as cricket (T20) and squash, where India already has a competitive ecosystem.
Hosting events like the ISSF World Cup 2027 in New Delhi, which offers Olympic quota places, is also part of the strategy to leverage home advantage in qualification pathways.
The most structural change underpinning India’s Olympic vision is the National Sports Governance Act (NSGA) 2025, which replaces the older, largely advisory sports code with a legally enforceable framework.
The Act introduces three key institutions:
- A National Sports Board to regulate and recognize federations
- A National Sports Tribunal to fast-track athlete disputes
- A National Sports Election Panel to ensure transparent federation elections
Crucially, national federations are now treated as public authorities under the RTI Act, enforcing transparency. Athlete representation is mandated, with sportspersons of merit included in executive bodies a long-standing demand finally institutionalised.
Professionalizing Sports Administration and Coaching
Reform does not stop at federations. A task force led by Abhinav Bindra has introduced a capability maturity model for sports administrators, defining career pathways and accountability levels in an attempt to replace ad hoc management with professional leadership.
Simultaneously, a coaching overhaul led by Pullela Gopichand proposes a tiered certification system—grassroots, intermediate, and elite—integrating sports science, psychology, and load management. The aim is clear: fewer burnout cases at junior level and better-prepared athletes at senior level.
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Technology forms the backbone of early talent identification. AI-driven platforms using video analysis and biometric tracking are being deployed to scout talent from schools, including underserved regions. The idea is to democratise access and reduce dependence on chance discovery.
Financially, the government is promoting the Odisha model, encouraging state governments to adopt specific sports, supported by the One Corporate, One Sport initiative. The long-term vision is a sustainable sports economy built on public-private partnerships rather than annual grants alone.
The first real tests of this blueprint will come at the 2026 Asian Games in Nagoya, where India has set a target of 111 medals, and the Commonwealth Games in Glasgow, expected to be leaner due to a reduced sports programme.
Ultimately, India’s 2036 Olympic bid is less about the right to host and more about proving readiness to belong among the world’s sporting elite. For the first time, the plan is detailed, data-driven, and institutional rather than emotional.
If execution matches intent, India’s Olympic story over the next decade may finally be written by design not hope.
