MANY SCEPTICAL OF INDIA'S GAMES DREAM

Its 2036 bid faces hurdles like 'internal challenges', poor infrastructure and record

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India says it wants the 2036 Olympics in what is seen as an attempt by Prime Minister Narendra Modi to cement his legacy, but the country faces numerous challenges to host the biggest show on earth.

He says staging the Games in a nation where cricket is the only sport that really matters is the "dream and aspiration" of 1.4 billion people.

Experts say it is more about his personal ambitions and leaving his mark on the world stage, while also sending a message about India's political and economic rise.

Mr Modi, who is also pushing for a permanent seat on the United Nations Security Council, will be 86 in 2036.

"Hosting the Olympics will, in a way, burnish India's credentials as a global power," said academic Ronojoy Sen, author of Nation At Play, a history of sport in India.

"The current government wants to showcase India's rise and its place on the global high table, and hosting the Olympic Games is one way to do it."

Already the most populous nation, India is on track to become the world's third-biggest economy long before the planned Olympics.

India submitted a formal letter of intent to the International Olympic Committee in October, but has not said where it wants to hold the Games.

Local media are tipping Ahmedabad in Mr Modi's home state of Gujarat, a semi-arid region where temperatures surge above 50 deg C in summer.