A highly placed source in the Union Sports Ministry said, “The preparations have begun. For each sport, an Olympic Training Centre [OTC] will be set up”
Javelin thrower Neeraj Chopra, India’s last gold medal-winning Olympian. Pic/Getty Images
The Union Sports Ministry is already in preparation mode for the 2028 Summer Olympics to be held in Los Angeles, USA.
A highly placed source in the Union Sports Ministry said, “The preparations have begun. For each sport, an Olympic Training Centre [OTC] will be set up.”
Ten sports will be selected for the Olympic Games, which will commence on July 14 2028 and wrap up by July 30. Asked about the specific sports which have been shortlisted, the official said, “[It is] not yet decided, but one training centre per sport will be made.”
mid-day has learnt that the work is already in progress vis-à-vis planning for the LA Games. Union Sports and Youth Affairs minister Dr Mansukh Mandaviya has already held meetings for the same. The Centres of Excellence that are already in existence and are used by Olympic-bound athletes for training will also continue to work alongside the Olympic Training Centres.
India’s Japanese inspiration
The official cited the example of Japan, which recently hosted the Olympics, saying that the majority of the host’s Olympic athletes came from one or two major training centres. However, in India that system was not possible to replicate and so the idea of 10 Olympic Centres was seeded. Further meetings will be held to allocate one sport to each OTC.
Bihar to host Youth Games
Meanwhile, the Union Sports Minister announced that the Khelo India Youth Games’ (KIYG) 7th edition will be held in Bihar. “10000 athletes will be participating in these games that will be held from May 4-15 in different cities of the state. There will be 27 events and E Sports will be a demo sport,” said Mandaviya.
He said 14 centres for the Khelo India initiative are being established and these centres “will be used for talent spotting and selected athletes would be sent to a Centre of Excellence.”
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