Efforts to host the 2036 Olympic Games in India hit a snag this week after the officials held a meeting with the International Olympic Committee on Tuesday. The IOC highlighted several concerns — including doping and governance issues — that needed to be addressed before a formal bid to host the event. India’s poor performance at the Olympics has also become a point of concern for the IOC. The country had finished the Paris Games at the 71st spot with just six medals.

“It has been communicated very candidly that while India can continue preparing for its bid to host future Olympics, the country has to address these issues first. This was, in a nutshell, the big takeaway from this meeting,” an official told The Indian Express.

The first-of-its-kind meeting was held at Lausanne in Switzerland and led by Gujarat Home and Sports Minister Harsh Sanghavi. It was also attended by IOA president PT Usha and other senior officials from the Indian Olympic Association. High-ranking bureaucrats from the Central and state governments, as well as private consultants and corporate executives were present. Sources told the publication that IOC had flagged three key issues during the meeting — governance issues at the IOA, rampant doping, and the country’s performance during previous Olympics.

India is also planning to mount a “strategic” bid for both the 2029 and 2031 World Athletics Championships later this year to strengthen its case for the Olympics. The Athletics Federation of India had decided to bid for a slew of high-profile events in view of India’s hopes to host the 2036 Olympics.

“We are going to do strategic bidding for 2029 and 2031 (Championships). Both editions will be awarded together and whichever edition we get is fine. There is still some time (for the process to start). We are going to submit the bids,” national federation spokesperson Adille Sumariwalla told PTI.

The AFI had earlier talked about bidding for the 2029 world championships but the idea of the “strategic” bidding for 2031 edition also could be due to the reason that Asia is hosting both the 2025 and 2027 editions of the showpiece, and it could be difficult for India to get the next one. The 2025 world championships will be held in Tokyo in September-October while the 2027 edition will be held in Beijing. Botswana will host the 2026 edition of the World Relays while the 2028 edition will be held in the Bahamas. In this scenario, India has a better chance to get the 2031 edition

(With inputs from agencies)