High-Level Committee Set Up by the Sports Ministry Ahead of Upcoming Olympics

The Ministry of Youth Affairs and Sports has set up a high-level committee consisting of seventeen members to aid in preparation for the upcoming Olympics. The Olympics are due to be held in 2024 and 2028 and are scheduled to take place in Paris and Los Angeles, respectively. This committee will help in providing the necessary logistical support to the athletes. Additionally, the committee will also create a blueprint to bid for ‘multi-disciplinary sporting events for India’.

The committee will consist of the Sports Minister (as the Chairperson), the Sports Secretary, two Joint Secretaries, the Director General of the Sports Authority of India (SAI), the Indian Olympic Association (IOA) President, IOA Athletes Chairperson and Vice- Chairperson, member of Mission Olympic Cell and President of the All India Football Federation (AIFF) to name a few. Hence, PT Usha, MC Mary Kom and Gagan Narang are some of the athletes who would be part of the committee.

Indian Athletes are eligible to participate in the 2024 Olympics by earning a quota place or attaining individual qualification through performance at designated competitions, by earning Olympic rankings via cumulative performances or by meeting the qualifying standards in the case of a few sports like athletics and swimming.

Earlier, the Sports Ministry created a 10-member High-Level Committee in July 2019 to strategise and work on creating the blueprint for the 2020 and 2024 Olympics. The committee’s objective was to aid in optimising the athletes’ performance and bidding for multi-sport events.