In search of an Olympic legacy: the story of India's failed Olympic bid

Abstract

After India successfully organized the 1982 Asian Games in Delhi, the long-term plan was to bid for the 1992 Summer Olympic Games. While India did indeed go on to bid for the Olympics, which was ultimately awarded to Barcelona, its appalling failure in the process did not appear to leave any viable foothold upon which to build in future years. This study aims to re-examine the story of Indian Olympic Association's failed bid for the 1992 Olympics, which among other regrettable outcomes, tarnished India's image as an Olympic nation and sporting entity.

Acknowledgements

The author thanks the staff of IOC Olympic Study Centre at Lausanne, Switzerland for unlimited access to the IOC archives and Souvik Naha, his research assistant, for collating valuable materials for this article.

Notes

^1. For a detailed discussion on the Asian Games held in Delhi in 1982, see Sanyal, The Story of Asian Games.

^2. These works include Majumdar and Mehta, Olympics; Sharma, Olympics; Negi, From Gloom to Glory; Majumdar and Collins, Olympism; Ezekiel and Arumugam, Great Indian Olympians and Ahmed, Olympic Games.

^3. Raja Bhalendra Singh's letter to Juan Antonio Samaranch, president of IOC, no. IOA/48/16 dated 15 September 1981. File No. DRM01. INDE/008. SD2 Corr. 1980, Olympic Studies Centre Archives, Lausanne, Switzerland (hereafter OSC Archives).

^4. Ibid.

^5. Monique Berlioux's letter to Raja Bhalendra Singh, Ref. No. 7302/81/jh dated September 25, 1981. File No. DRM01. INDE/008. SD2 Corr. 1980, OSC Archives.

^6.The Times of India, April 24, 1982, 11.

^7. Ibid.

^8.The Times of India, November 21, 1982, 10.

^9. Ibid.

^10.The Statesman, November 19, 1982, 10.

^11. Ibid.

^12.The Times of India, November 23, 1982, 1.

^13. Ibid. The vice-president of the GDR Gymnastics and Sports Federation, Mr Werner Berg, also noted that the stadia he saw in New Delhi during the Ninth Asian Games were unique in the world. According to his personal assessment, New Delhi had all the facilities required to stage the Olympic Games. The Times of India, January 4, 1983, 17.

^14. C.L. Mehta's letter to Samaranch, No. IOA/48/16 dated December 12, 1982. File No. DRM01. INDE 009. SD1, Corr. January–June 1983, OSC Archives. The candidate cities listed in the statement were Paris and Nice (Paris), Barcelona (Spain), Stockholm, Budapest, Hungary, Brisbane, Amsterdam and Vienna.

^15. Ibid. The Times of India, December 10, 1982, 11.

^16. Samaranch's letter to C.L. Mehta, Ref. No. 99/83 dated January 4, 1983. File No. DRM01. INDE 009. SD1, Corr. January–June 1983, OSC Archives.

^17.The Statesman, March 22, 1983, 14.

^18.The Statesman, March 26, 1983, 14.

^19.The Statesman, April 3, 1983, 10.

^20.The Times of India, April 10, 1983, 12.

^21. Ibid.

^22.The Times of India, April 2, 1983, 11.

^23.The Times of India, April 8, 1983, 11.

^24. For details, see Samaranch's letter to V.C. Shukla, Ref. No. 8440/85/AFB/do1 dated July 31, 1985. File No. DRM01-INDE/10, SD Corr. 1985, OSC Arhives.

^25.The Times of India, April 20, 1983, 8.

^26. Ibid.

^27. Ibid.

^28.The Times of India, June 7, 1984, 13.

^29. Ibid.

^30. Ibid.

^31.The Times of India, July 31, 1984, 13.

^32.The Times of India, November 11, 1984, 11.

^33. Monique Berlioux's letter to Raja Bhalendra Singh. File No. DRM01 INDE/009. SD 4: Corr. May–December 1984. OSC Archives.

^34. Letter of V.C. Shukla to J.A. Samaranch No. IOA/48/16 dated April 12, 1985. DRM01-INDE/10, SD Corr. 1985, OSC Archives.

^35.The Statesman, June 6, 1985, 10; The Times of India, June 6, 1985, 11.

^36. Ibid.

^37.The Statesman, June 6, 1985, 10.

^38.The Times of India, June 6, 1985, 11.

^39. Ibid.

^40.The Times of India, November 7, 1985, 11.

^41.The Statesman, June 7, 1985, 12.

^42. Ibid.

^43. Letter of A.K. Sinha, assistant secretary of IOA, to the IOC, No. IOA/51/2 dated August 11, 1985. DRM01-INDE/10, SD Corr. 1985, OSC Archives.

^44. Letter of A.K. Sinha, assistant secretary of IOA, to the IOC, No. IOA/51/2 dated October 19, 1985. DRM01-INDE/10, SD Corr. 1985, OSC Archives.

^45.The Times of India, November 7, 1985, 11.

^46. Ibid.

^47.The Times of India, November 16, 1985, 8.

^48.The Times of India, January 7, 1985, 15.

^49. Ibid.

^50. Ibid.

^51.The Times of India, February 22, 1986, 11.

^52.The Times of India, February 24, 1986, 11.

^53.The Times of India, February 28, 1986, 1.

^54. Ibid.

^55.The Statesman, March 1, 1986, 14.

^56. Ibid.

^57.The Times of India, March 3, 1986, 8.