India’s sports minister says his country plans to submit a bid to host the 2036 Olympics. New Delhi will push for hosting rights at a meeting of the International Olympic Committee to be held next year .

Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s government is striving to make India a global sports powerhouse and has invested huge sums in building infrastructure at home.

The city of Ahmedabad in Modi’s home state of Gujarat – India’s bid to host the Olympics – is where the world’s largest stadium was opened in 2020. The stadium is called Narendra Modi Stadium, named after the Indian leader.

Sports Minister Anurag Thakur told the Times of India newspaper that it was the “right time” for his country to stage the biggest sporting event in the world.

“If India puts a lot of effort into promoting sports, I can assure you that we will not just host the Olympics, we will host them in a big way,” he said in an interview published on Wednesday.

Thakur said a roadmap outlining Ahmedabad’s plans to host the Olympics will be presented at the IOC meeting next September in Mumbai.

The IOC has awarded the hosting rights for the next three Summer Olympics to Paris, Los Angeles and Brisbane.

If India’s bid is successful, it will become the fourth Asian country to host the Olympics after Japan, South Korea and China.

India once hosted the Commonwealth Games in 2010, but the event was marred by accusations of widespread corruption and mismanagement.

Several other countries have announced their intention to submit bids, including Indonesia, South Korea and Qatar. [ah/rs]