New Delhi, India, March 26, 2024: India is keen to bid for the Asian Beach Games in 2025.
This was the outcome following a meeting between the President of the Indian Olympic Association, P.T. Usha, and a delegation from the Olympic Council of Asia in New Delhi last week.
The OCA team comprised Acting President Raja Randhir Singh, Director General Husain Al Musallam and Deputy Director General Vinod Kumar Tiwari.
IOA President Usha told Indian media that the host city is likely to be Goa, adding: “We will speak with the Goa Chief Minister and then take it from there.”
OCA Acting President Randhir Singh said that it would be a good opportunity for India to host the Beach Games and noted that, for the OCA, it would mean cementing old ties with India, which hosted the first Asian Games in 1951 as well as the 1982 edition. Both were held in New Delhi.
OCA Director General Husain Al Musallam was quoted by the Tribune News Service as saying: “The concept of the Beach Games is to connect sports and tourism. You have a lot of cities full of tourists so additionally they can enjoy sports. It is cost effective as you don’t need big infrastructure. All you need is nature, which is sand and the ocean.”
For the bid to be officially lodged, the IOA needs a supporting letter from the state government as well as the central government. An upbeat Usha was confident of this.
Usha later posted on her Facebook page: “It was a pleasure to host and meet Raja Randhir Singh ji, Dr. Husain Al Musallam and Vinod Tiwari ji. We had a fruitful discussion on the development of sports in Asia and India.”
