Ahmedabad (Gujarat) [India] : Indian Olympic Association (IOA) President Narinder Batra feels the newly built Narendra Modi Stadium is the best venue to stage the opening ceremony of the 2036 Olympics if India gets to host the mega event. The stadium is the biggest cricket stadium in the world as it has a total capacity of 1,32,000 and it is oval in shape. “If someone asks me about the venue for the opening ceremony at present, then it is definitely going to be the Motera stadium,” Batra told reporters on the sidelines of an event organised by TransStadia, a city-based sports infrastructure firm. “There is no stadium better suited to host the opening ceremony of the Olympics (in India). I can’t say what will happen by 2036 (but) I will be proposing Ahmedabad as the venue for the opening ceremony,” he added. “When you say opening ceremony, it means that athletics will also be played (at the same venue). And athletics is the biggest event (at the Olympics),” Batra further said. Earlier this week, Batra backed Hockey India’s decision to pull out from the Commonwealth Games 2022. The Indian men’s and women’s hockey teams have decided to pull out of the Commonwealth Games 2022, which is set to be held next year from July 28 to August 8 in Birmingham. The teams have put their full focus on the Asian Games 2022, which will be hosted in Hangzhou, China, from September 10 to 25. The IOA President said the decision not to send teams to CWG was made by Hockey India and highlighted the fact that India will easily qualify for the Paris Games if they win the Asia Cup.
