India's capital city, which hosted the inaugural Asian Games in 1951 and the 9th edition in 1982, would bid to host the Games for a third time in 2014, Indian Olympic Association President Suresh Kalmadi announced in New Delhi on Saturday.
Kalmadi said the city would have the required infrastructure in place to host the Asian sporting spectacle
as it would host the Commonwealth Games in 2010.
So far only Delhi has entered the race to host the Games in 2014.
"We are also in the race to host the 2016 Olympics. The process for bidding will start very soon," said Kalmadi, who has been re-elected to the Parliament on a Congress ticket.
"Happy days are here again. Indian sports will not look back now," Kalmadi said referring to his party's victory in the elections.
Later in the day, the first Asian Games Fun Run was conducted at the Major Dhyan Chand National Stadium to spread the message of the next Games to be held in Doha, Qatar in 2006.
The run, jointly organised by the Olympic Council of Asia and the IOA, saw hundreds of children, wearing colourful T-shirts, and sporting personalities including hockey Olympian M K Kaushik and pistol shooter Jaspal Rana sprint to the finish line to spread the message of Asian Games.
"There will be 10 more such runs across Asia in the next two years before the Doha Games. The next run would be in the suburbs of the South Korean capital Seoul," said Joss Sargent of Promoseven sports, who are conducting the runs for the OCA.
