IOA president distances himself from Asian Games bid

Indian Olympic Association (IOA) president N. Ramachandran Friday distanced himself from the 2019 Asian Games bid putting the onus on secretary-general Rajeev Mehta to submit the bid by the July 1 deadline.

This comes a day after Mehta claimed that 85 percent of the IOA members agree to host the 2019 Asian Games and warned Ramachandran that he would be solely responsible if a bid was not made in time.

In response, Ramachandran wrote a letter to Mehta Friday, saying "since you have taken the lead and sought the opinion of the IOA to bid for the Asian Games 2019, you may take all the steps that are necessary, in compliance with the IOA constitution and applicable laws, for submitting the bid in time."

On Thursday, Mehta in a letter to Ramachandran claimed that 85 percent of the IOA members have given their consent to bid for the Games and will not let the IOA down by not filing the bid.

The 2019 Asian Games were originally awarded to Vietnam, who earlier this year pulled out as the hosts, citing financial constraints.

Indonesia also offered to host the Games. In fact, in November 2012, the Vietnamese capital city of Hanoi beat Surabaya, Indonesia's second largest city, in the race to host the Asian Games.