Cricket will open up new Olympic markets, and it's critical for the movement: Coe

New Delhi: Hailing cricket's inclusion in the 2028 Los Angeles Games, International Olympic Committee (IOC) president's post frontrunner Sebastian Coe says the move will open up new markets, which will be critical for the growth of the Olympic movement.

Cricket returned to the Olympics in the T20 format for the first time after the 1900 edition, as it was named among the five additional sports for the 2028 LA Games. The decision was taken in 2023.

Coe, who is currently the head of World Athletics, stressed that cricket's support base goes far beyond South Asia, which has a population of more than two billion.

"Well, from everything I've said (during November 2024 visit to India), you would recognise that cricket is in for the Olympic movement, particularly with the support that it will have not only in South Asia, but people from South Asia living in all our big cities," Coe told PTI in an exclusive virtual interview.

"We have a very big Indian or South Asian community in London, in New York. This audience, this support goes way beyond just India, Pakistan or South Asia. It's very important for the (Olympic) movement. And it will open up new Olympic markets, which is critical."

It is not known whether cricket will be in the roster for the 2032 Olympics in Brisbane, Australia, but the game will certainly make the cut if India bags the hosting rights for the 2036 edition, for which the country has already submitted a 'Letter of Intent'.

The 68-year-old Coe, whose maternal grandfather is an Indian from Punjab, is considered the frontrunner among the seven candidates contesting in the election to succeed Thomas Bach as IOC president.

More than 100 members of the IOC will vote on March 20 in the Greek resort of Costa Navarino, where the 144th IOC Session will be held from March 18 to 21.

Coe, a a double Olympic 1500m gold medallist, does not see anything wrong with countries like India willing to host big-ticket events such as the Olympics, though some would argue that the huge cost involved could better be used for nurturing talent and building other sports infrastructure.

"You have to do both. I've always said that if you have a really well stocked shop window, that will have an impact on the ability to attract people into the shop. Having performing athletes like Neeraj Chopra also has a massive impact. So, you can't have one without the other.

"Ideally, you have pathways and programmes that have been created for participation, but that participation is turbo-charged if you have top athletes and you have world-class events." He advocated the use of Artificial Intelligence (AI) in talent identification.

"Talent identification can be really turbo-charged by AI and is a lot cheaper than the traditional ways of identifying that talent. There are lots of things that AI and cutting edge technology can allow us to almost level up the difference between small member federations and National Olympic committees and the big and the well-healed ones. This (AI) can really equalise opportunities.

"Accessibility is also absolutely critical. AI can really help in this area also. AI allows us to optimise, particularly around some smaller National Olympic Committees that may have less economic ability to do some of the things the larger NOCs do, particularly around talent identification." Recently Coe had suggested that Russia could be brought back to the Olympic fold if there is an agreement to end the war with Ukraine.

Asked if such a decision could be a smooth one to arrive at if he becomes the IOC president, he said, "It will be entirely dependent on the circumstances on the progress we've made when we were dealing with the doping challenges.

"Clearly, there is the geopolitical set of circumstances which everybody is going to have to wait to see what the outcome is. Those discussions are taking place at this very moment. So that's exactly where we are and there's nothing much more I can add to that." Asked if he will have any unfinished business in World Athletics if he is elected IOC president, Coe said, "No, we're in very good shape. We've got great governance structures.

"We know that the senior vice president becomes the acting president until 2027 in Beijing (World Championships). I like to feel that the sport will have an outstanding choice of candidates at that congress in Beijing."