Contrary to what has been depicted, India’s bid for the 2019 Asian Games was still on and the Indian Olympic Association was in the process of sending a bid document to the Olympic Council of Asia in time to meet the February, 2011 deadline, IOA secretary-general Randhir Singh said here on Thursday.
Talking to reporters after attending India’s flag-hoisting ceremony at the Games Village, Mr. Randhir said that the government had the blue print of the bid submitted to it for the 2014 Games that ultimately went to the South Korean city of Incheon and only the escalation of the costs needed to be pencilled in.
Mr. Randhir, who is also the secretary-general of OCA, said the 2019 Games hosts would be decided in July next year in Tokyo by the OCA’s General Assembly which meets here on Friday and on November 13 to decide on the host cities for the next Asian Indoor Games and Asian Beach Games.
“The 2014 bid details are with the government. It has already been cleared by the cabinet and does not need any more approval. All that is needed is to factor in the escalation of cost from 2014 to 2019 which can be done by the government’s financial authorities better than us,” said Mr. Randhir.
