A political change may shift sporting landscape

The Olympics bid
It needs to be seen what happens to the bidding of the Olympics in 2036, which was announced by the Prime Minister in October during the International Olympic Committee (IOC) session at Mumbai. Though the process has already begun, there will be focus on the cost effectiveness of the Olympics and the hosting city. According to reports, the Tokyo Games cost about $13 billion (Rs 1,08,435 crore).

The Rio Games (AP reported that it cost $13 billion, paid for with a mix of public and private money) had incurred huge losses reportedly running into over a billion dollars and the country’s economy went into a tailspin. Same was the case after the Athens Olympic Games in 2004. Some of the big economically healthy nations are circumspect to bid for the Games because of the cost. Forget the Olympics, India had struggled after hosting the Commonwealth Games in 2010.

Future of hockey
The sport that may be most affected could be hockey. The sport was literally nursed and supported by the Odisha government. Odisha has been supporting hockey since 2018 and in 2023, they extended the contract for 10 years. According to the deal, the government has pledged Rs 434.12 crore for both the men and women’s teams.

Only a year into the deal, the government has changed. It needs to be seen if the new BJP government continues supporting the teams or concentrates on something else. One should also keep an eye on the Hockey India leadership as well. It is no secret that the top functionaries of the HI were at loggerheads and there were multiple reports suggesting change of leadership (president’s post).

Former Olympian Dilip Tirkey is the HI chief and apparently held on to his position as a BJD leader and because of support from the government. Now that he has lost the Lok Sabha election, it needs to be seen how HI will continue. Not just hockey; after the fall of Patnaik government, a lot of other disciplines will also be keeping a close watch on the new BJP government. From swimming, athletics to shooting, there are multiple high performance centres that are operating out of Odisha. It needs to be seen if the moniker ‘Sports Capital of India’ remains with Bhubaneswar.

Ministry, SAI & IOA dynamics
With the Olympics round the corner, it needs to be seen if the new government continues with the same set of officials? The SAI has not seen a change of leadership for quite some time with its DG getting two extensions after taking up the post in 2019. His tenure had been extended until September this year after the Olympics, and most likely will continue. But there will be intense scrutiny as well. One should also keep an eye on the dynamics in the Indian Olympic Association.

There are two camps in IOA. One group is apparently led by a senior vice president who is considered close to the BJP leader, along with most EC members, some of whom have close ties with the sports ministry and SAI because of various interests including funding of sports academies. And the other side is IOA president against whom most of the EC members revolted after the appointment of the Chief Executive Officer. If things change in the corridors of the sports ministry and SAI, things are expected to affect IOA dynamics as well. It will not remain in IOA. There could be changes in national sports federations as well.

Cricket and its future
Ever since Jay Shah became the de facto supremo of the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) as its secretary a few years ago, Ahmedabad has assumed an outsized influence even beyond the corridors of Indian cricket. Shah, currently head of the ICC’s Finance and Commercial Affairs Committee, is tipped to run for the world governing body’s post of chairman after his tenure ends later this year.

While that may still happen, Ahmedabad (venue of last year’s World Cup final, 2023 IPL final apart from hosting multiple big-ticket Tests since 2021) may have to settle for a diminished presence. Also, in a coalition government, the prospect of an India-Pakistan bilateral series increases. The last time both countries travelled across the border for bilateral series, Delhi had a coalition government. With the Champions Trophy on the horizon, currently slated to be held in Pakistan, one wonders if the ruling coalition government will allow the Indian team to take the journey across the border.

The Indian Express