IOC session: After 40 years, India on Saturday secured the right to host the International Olympic Committee (IOC) session in Mumbai next year.
This will be the first time India will host the session after 1983. The session will be hosted at the state-of-the-art, brand new Jio World Convention Centre.
Reacting to the development, Union minister Anurag Thakur said: “A historic moment as the International Olympic Committee Session is coming to India in 2023! Indian sport has made giant strides in recent years. Excited and proud to have been a part of the Indian delegation for this landmark occasion."
Nita Ambani, the Indian representative on the committee, described it as "a significant development for the country's Olympic aspiration".
Mumbai received a historic 99% of the votes in favour of its bid from the delegates participating in the process, with 75 members endorsing its candidature in the session held at Beijing.
An IOC session is the annual meeting of the members of the IOC, comprising 101 voting members and 45 honorary members.
It discusses and decides on the key activities of the global Olympics movement including adoption or amendment of the Olympic Charter, election of IOC members and office bearers and election of the host city of Olympics.
"The Olympic Movement is back to India after a 40-year wait. I am truly grateful to the International Olympic Committee for entrusting India with the honour of hosting the IOC Session in Mumbai in 2023," said Ambani, the first woman to be elected as an IOC member from India.
"This will be a significant development for India's Olympic aspiration and will herald the start of a new era for Indian sport."
Apart from Ambani, Indian Olympic Association (IOA) President Narinder Batra, Sports Minister Anurag Thakur, and India's first individual Olympic gold medallist Abhinav Bindra were part of the Indian delegation.
With inputs from PTI
