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Tennis legend Vijay Amritraj is confident India, if given the opportunity, will do a spectacular job of hosting the 2036 Olympics. Amidst reports of India preparing its bid to host the 2036 Olympics, tennis legend Vijay Amritraj has thrown his weight behind the country’s ability to host the multi-sport spectacle. Speaking at the Rising Bharat Summit 2025 in the national capital on Tuesday, Amritraj said he’s quite confident that India will be ready for the Summer Games.
“From the standpoint what we need to do as a country, I think we will be ready," Amritraj said. “We are always able to do it. The hospitality here will be second to none.
And the success of the 2036 Games if it came to India will be second to none. No questions about it in my mind. And I have seen most of these things happen in different parts of the world.
" “I was very privileged to carry the Olympic Torch at the 1988 Games in Seoul. I was very much a part of the ITF helping them get tennis back in the Olympic Games. So, I know what it takes," he added.
Amritraj, one of the finest tennis stars to have represented India, achieved a career-best singles ranking of 18 in 1980. During his playing career, he won 16 singles titles and 14 doubles titles. The 71-year-old though thinks that a bigger challenge for India than playing host to a high-profile event like the Olympic Games is to make sure they finish inside the top five of medals count at the quadrennial event.
“But at the same time, even if we are ready as a country to host the Olympics in 2036, we do have to make sure that we can make the top five in the medal count," Amritraj said. “That’s the challenge. To me, that is the most important thing of having the Olympic Games.
When we are ready to host the Olympics in 2036, we will do a spectacular job – 9 out of things – no questions. The one thing matters the most is to make sure that we make the top five in medal count. That’s the hardest part," he added.
Following his playing career, Amritraj also dabbled in administration, sports commentary and acting. He famously acted in the James Bond film Octopussy. Amritraj, who was among the first Asian men to be inducted into the International Tennis Hall of Fame, feels finishing among the top five countries in medal count at the 20236 Games won’t be a cakewalk but added it’s within the realm of possibility while citing the examples of Indian excelleing in other sphers of life globally.
“...
we have CEOs present in the worldwide (top 100) companies at this moment, how did we get there? Because of the incredible hard work that was put in, the talent that we have, the brainpower that we have – all of that went into making us arguably the greatest in the world in that particular area of work. I think we can do it in sports as well," he said. “We just have to focus more on disciplines that we can actually do well in.
We can’t do well in all disciplines. I don’t think we should be going after the things that we’re not going to be good at. There’s a reason why runners from the African continent actually do as well as they do.
There’s a reason why Caribbean boys and girls do as well as they do. I think, it’s hard," he concluded..
