International Olympic Academy Impressed with India’s strategy,

A two-member delegation of Makis Asimakopoulos, director, International Olympic Academy (IOA) and Ms. Alexandra Karaiskou visited the Sports Authority of India’s Headquarters in Delhi to meet senior officials of the Sports Ministry, led by Secretary, Ministry of Sports Hari Ranjan Rao.

During the meeting Mr. Asimakopoulos said that he was impressed to see “The Plan, the strategy and the vision that the Sports Ministry has put in place in order to play a major role in the Olympic Movement.”

The meeting was aimed at discussing collaborations between IOA and the Sports Ministry, along with the Indian Olympic Association and the newly-revived National Olympic Academy, to strengthen sports education in India through specially curated programmes for Indian coaches, sports science experts and PE teachers.

Adding to this Ms. Alexandra said, “We had a very productive discussion and from the presentation made by the Secretary Sports, we saw that India is taking concrete steps to host the Commonwealth Games and the bid for the 2036 Olympics

Summing up the outcome of the meeting, Shri. Rao said, “We had a very fruitful first meeting and we intend to take this collaboration forward so that we can draw from the rich experience of the IOA and strengthen our sports education further. Under the leadership of Prime Minister Narendra Modi, the sports ecosystem is growing at a very fast pace & it is critical to create experts who can take the Olympic movement in India forward.”.(UPDATED ON 30TH JANUARY 2026)