Union Home Minister Amit Shah on Friday voiced strong confidence that Ahmedabad will secure the hosting rights for the 2036 Olympic Games.
Recently, Ahmedabad was officially awarded the hosting rights for the 2030 Commonwealth Games.
"You recently won the bid for the Commonwealth Games. But, people of Ahmedabad, be prepared, because the city is also going to welcome the Olympics in 2036," said Shah while addressing a gathering at the closing ceremony of the Sansad Khel Mahotsav (MP Sports Festival) in Ahmedabad.
Shah, who began a three day visit to Gujarat on Friday, said Ahmedabad will host nearly a dozen national and international level sports competitions before the 2036 Games, including the Commonwealth Games in 2030.
He told the gathering that the Veer Savarkar Sports Complex, located in his Gandhinagar Lok Sabha constituency, was constructed at a cost of Rs 800 crore.
He added that similar major sports facilities are under development across the city, including the Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel Sports Enclave in Motera.
The Union minister appealed Gujarat's sportspersons to ensure that Gujarat becomes the highest medal-winning state in the country when the Olympics will be held in 2036.
"I am confident that when the Olympics will be held here, India will be among the top five countries in the medal tally," said Shah.
Indian sportspersons are now winning medals in international events because Prime Minister Narendra Modi's government has increased the budget for sports from Rs 800 crore in 2014 to Rs 4,000 crore in 2025, he said.
Later in the day, Shah inaugurated the Ahmedabad Shopping Festival organised by the Ahmedabad Municipal Corporation at Sindhu Bhavan Road.
