CWG: India take charge of baton as 2030 hosts, but doubts remain

It was a poignant moment on Sunday night when Neeraj Chopra and PT Usha, two of the best representatives of India in the global athletic community, received the baton as the hosts of the 2030 Commonwealth Games in Ahmedabad. A back-to-back fourth place in final medals tally ensures that the country has the potential to be worthy hosts, but there is a lurking suspicion about whether the Games will be worth the huge investment.

 There are no prizes for guessing that India entered the fray in March last year, with Amdavad as the default candidate, to host the CWG as a test case to strengthen their bid for the more ambitious Olympics 2036. However, with the International Olympic Committee (IOC) decision on 2036 hosts due sometime around 2028-29, it will be interesting to see where it leaves India if their bid meets with a rejection as they have strong candidates to battle with.

 It’s an unsavoury thought to chew on only a day after they have received the baton as hosts – albeit for the second time after 2010. However, there is no denying that the CWG, which will complete a 100 years’ existence in four years, is skating a bit on thin ice as the relevance of a Games solely among countries which had been a part of the erstwhile British Commonwealth is under scanner. It’s common knowledge that both Birmingham and Glasgow, the last two hosts, had stepped in only after Durban and Victoria pulled out though it’s extremely unlikely to happen with India.

  However, a top Indian Olympic Association (IOA) official was pragmatic enough not to give anything cast in stone. ‘’I don’t think one can give any guarantees,’’ Raghu Iyer, the IOA Chief Executive told BBC Sport. It was a note of caution that showed questions about the Games’ future had not been banished despite the truncated 2026 Games doing a decent job.

The central venue will of course be the 120,000-seater cricket stadium, which bears the name of Prime Minister Narendra Modi, while most other facilities will come up anew in cities like the neighbouring Gandhinagar, Vadodara and Ektanagar. The Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel Aiport has already got a second terminal – while one can expect more upgrades in the next four years

The Glasgow model, which worked on a blueprint to cut costs on all fronts, and the one for Amdavad will be like chalk-and-cheese though. If Glasgow manged to restrict the expenditure in the region of £160m (source: BBC) by trimming down the disciplines by half to 10, accommodate athletes in hotels in the absence of a central Games Village, the expenditure is expected to at least double for India.

 Interestingly, India are still counting the costs of the 2010 edition when New Delhi hosted it for the first time. There are media reports that an outstanding liability of Rs 28.05 cr was cleared in 2025-26 while another Rs 50 cr has been set aiside for 2026-27. More than Rs 13 crore has been spent on legal and arbitration fees and 29 cases are still being heard at various courts.

 “It is a big responsibility, but we are ready,” said Harsh Sanghavi, Deputy Chief Minister of Gujarat, who was joined by Shri Hari Ranjan Rao, Secretary at the Department of Sport. He talked up chances of how this will boost India’s chances of hosting the 2036 Olympics and Para Olympics.

 There are precedents of at least two countries: Australia and Canada, who had hosted both the Summer Games and CWG in close succession. Melbourne hosted the 1956 Olympics while Perth hosted the CWG in 1962, while Sydney staged the 2000 Olympics and Melbourne the CWG in 2006. Canada did it at an even closer gap with the 1976 Olympics in Montreal and 1978 CWG in Edmonton.

 It’s significant to note that the host cities have been different in each case unlike India, for whom Amdavad has been pitched for Olympics. For now, the countdown for the centenary Games has already begun and in the words of Katie Sadleir, CEO of Commonwealth Sport, 2030 are unlikely to figure ‘’15 to 17’’ sports – where cricket is virtually all set for a comeback.

 India (or better still, Amdavad) will have their hands full, it seems…

• This article was first published in www.nationalheraldindia.com