The embarrassing scenes at the India Open Super 750 tournament in Delhi last month has come as a wake-up call for the Government of India, which has its sights firmly set on hosting the Olympic Games in 2036.

According to a report on The Indian Express, an official from the Mansukh Mandaviya-led Sports MInistry as well as from the Sports Authority of India will be present at venues hosting international tournaments in India going forward.

Their job will be to oversee preparations as well as conduct of these events and ensure there are no complaints, especially when it comes to infrastructure, thus maintaining the image that India is trying to present of a nation capable of hosting a multi-sporting event of the scale of an Olympics.

Besides the India Open, India had hosted other major international events such as the Asian Aquatics Championships in Ahmedabad, the World Para Athletics Championships in Delhi the UCI Pune Grand Tour and the BWF Junior World Championships in Guwahati.

And it’s not just the India Open that has come under the scanner for poor infrastructure and/or planning. The World Para Athletics Championships – the biggest sporting event taking place in India since the 2010 Commonwealth Games – had made headlines after
stray dogs bit Japanese and Kenyan coaches at the Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium.

“India has successfully hosted some major events and officials of international federations have had positive things to say. However, incidents like dog bites during the World Para Athletics Championships and the criticism during the India Open is undoing all the hard work,” a sports ministry source was quoted by the newspaper as saying.

“The sports ministry wants to make sure there is no scope for criticism when India hosts events. Hence the ministry has decided that two officials will be at events to oversee preparations. The only aim is to ensure there is not even a minor slip-up.

“India can host international events successfully, but the recent incidents the sports ministry believes were blown out of proportion and got a lot of coverage. But the ministry realizes there were issues. The ministry wants the right picture to be portrayed about India’s capability as hosts,” the source added.

How the 2026 India Open served a reality check to the country’s Olympic dream

The India Open had made headlines for shoddy facilities as well as poor air quality in New Delhi last year and things hardly turned out any different this year despite organisers shifting the event to a different venue.

Complaints of bird droppings on the floor of the playing area as well as the sight of monkeys sitting in the stands had left Indian sports officials red-faced, with the Malaysia-based Badminton World Federation also taking note of multiple complaints from players regarding the substandard playing and training facilities.

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Danish shuttler Mia Blichfeldt had complained about the facilities as well as air quality last year, and
did not not any significant improvement last month. Her views were supported by world No 3 and fellow Dane Anders Antonsen, who withdrew from the tournament after complaining of Delhi’s hazardous air quality.

Blichfeldt had also urged governing body BWF to ensure the Indian badminton federation had proper infrastructure in place for the
World Championships that will be taking place in the national capital later this year.

While India dreams of becoming only the fourth Asian nation after Japan, South Korea and China to host the Olympics, it faces intense competition from a host of other nations, including Qatar – which had successfully hosted the 2022 FIFA World Cup.

India, in the meantime, have been awarded hosting rights for the 2030 Commonwealth Games in Ahmedabad, which has also been marked as the host city in the country’s Olympic bid.