The Indian Olympic Association (IOA), along with the Reliance Foundation will be hosting an 'India House' at the upcoming Paris Olympic Games 2024. The India House will host Indian athletes and make them feel at home, especially as they will be in a European country (France) during the quadrennial event. (More Sports News)
The India House pavilion at the Paris Games, which will be held from July 26 to August 11, will include Indian cuisine, Indian heritage, host yoga events and meet-and-greet sessions with athletes, according to a report in The Times Of India.
As per a report in The Indian Express, athletes will be served specially curated meals that include steamed basmati rice, dal, roti, aloo-gobi, Indian-styled chicken curry and some South Asian broths.
The report states that the India House will be a 40,000-square foot long and will be put up near the Games Village. Moreover, it will also include India's 100-year history at the Olympics, just to make the athletes more proud.
“When we were in Paris last month, we did have an opportunity to go and have a look at the place where the India House is being set up. It’s basically a facility which is not only meant for athletes but also for the Indian diaspora and fans to visit and enjoy the direct feed of matches involving Indian athletes," IOA president PT Usha said.
“A lot of cultural activities have been being planned where we will showcase India’s tourism, progress made in digitalisation and cultural activities. There will be a dedicated Indian food section for the country’s athletes and travelling Indian fans and mediapersons. Two restaurants will be set up which will serve food dishes from North and South India.”
Furthermore, the India House will also add a sports science centre under the supervision of Dr Dinshaw Pardiwala, the doctor who treated Vinesh Phogat and cricketer Rishabh Pant.
“The centre will have a complete medicine and recovery unit. A lot of machinery is being shipped out to set it all up,” India’s deputy chef de mission for the Olympics Shiva Keshavan was quoted in The Indian Express.
According to the TOI report, the facility will be inaugurated on July 28, a day after the Paris Olympics opening ceremony.
