Nita Ambani, IOC member and Reliance Foundation Chairperson, celebrated cricket's return to the Olympics at the 2028 Los Angeles Games.
She highlighted India's passion for sports, noting the massive Olympic channel viewership from India during the Tokyo Games, and how she emphasised cricket's global appeal, mentioning Virat Kohli, to the IOC.
"India is a sport-loving nation. For the Tokyo Olympics, the maximum viewership for the Olympic channel came from India, so imagine what would happen if we added cricket to it. So that's the time when my mind started ticking as to how do I convince the committee members to have cricket as an Olympic sport. Now, they were still in the belief that cricket is a five-day long cricket match... I informed them and this is going to be a win-win situation if you have cricket as an Olympic spot and you'll have the backing of probably two billion people. So I think that is the plug that I used and I'm so happy that now cricket will be an Olympic sport," Ambani shared during her keynote address at the Harvard India Conference on Indian Business, Policy & Culture.
She emphasised the potential for increased viewership and global engagement with cricket's Olympic debut.
The IOC officially announced cricket's inclusion in the 2028 Los Angeles Games, marking its return to the Olympics after 128 years. Along with cricket, baseball/softball, lacrosse, squash, and flag football will also be featured. Cricket's only previous Olympic appearance was in the 1900 Paris Games, where Great Britain emerged victorious against France. While not a regular Olympic sport, cricket has been included in other multi-sport events like the Commonwealth Games and the Asian Games.
Ambani also discussed India's aspirations to host the Olympics and its commitment to sustainability.
"I believe that India must have the Olympics. We are going to be the third-largest economy in the world. If you look at the 10 largest economies of the world, nine countries have hosted the Olympics, but only India has not. So I find that really odd. We would wish to see the Olympics being hosted in our country. It will be our pride to host that. So that is the reason, I think the Prime Minister also mentioned that India will bid for the 2036 Olympics...I think we are planning to host a sustainable Olympics where we are planning to refurbish and reuse our existing stadiums and existing campuses. If we bid for it and get it, I assure you that we'll be the greenest Olympics ever...I think India is at the right time now to host the Olympics," she stated.
Ambani's vision for a sustainable Olympics underscores India's dedication to environmentally responsible hosting.
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