Fans get a taste of Olympic action at the 'India house' in Paris
Visit our website:
http://www.france24.com
Like us on Facebook:
https://www.facebook.com/FRANCE24.English
Follow us on Twitter:
https://twitter.com/France24_en
Category
ЁЯЧЮ
NewsTranscript
00:00Well, a host of fan zones have been set up around Paris with houses representing different
00:04countries.
00:05They're filled with plenty of activities and, of course, show screenings of the matches
00:09taking place for the country.
00:10Well, today our reporter Jean-Emile Gemin is at India House.
00:14We can cross over to speak to him now.
00:16Hi, Jean-Emile.
00:18The ambience seems to be buzzing over there.
00:19I can hear it a bit now.
00:21Show us around where you are.
00:23Well, Jenny, we are at India House, as you mentioned, and it is the house which is trying
00:29to promote a country, the largest population in the world, and trying to show that they
00:33have what it takes to possibly host a sports event come 2036 when the Olympics are next
00:39on and, well, not next on, but the 2036 Olympics is quite a far time away.
00:44India, though, looking to promote its own sports, the likes of chess, the likes of yoga,
00:48even T20 cricket, which will be in the L.A. Olympics, and showing that they have what
00:52it takes to at least get all the athletes on board.
00:55They have 117 athletes who did at least qualify for these Olympics, and behind me you can
01:01see this wall of their Indian athletes, basically, who are competing.
01:06Some of their famed names like Neeraj Chopra over here in the javelin.
01:10We expect to see him whenever any one of them wins a medal.
01:14They come here.
01:15They interact with the fans.
01:16It's a great ceremony, and they put their medal up next to their names, and there's
01:20just a whole host of song, dance, food, Indian culture.
01:24There are cricket nets even for you to play in, and there are singers, dancers.
01:29It is just promoting that Indian culture as well as the sport, and behind me we will just
01:34show you quickly that there is an interactive board where people can show that there is
01:39a kind of a drive to have the Olympics in India.
01:41It's a little petition, interactive, to show maybe, you know, we can have this here.
01:46And also joining me here, I've got Janja Ubelirajan.
01:49She is the Miss France India, and she is one of the many faces here to promote Indian
01:56culture and a sports hosting country.
02:00And Janja, thank you so much for just joining us quickly on France 24.
02:03Do you think India has what it takes now at this stage to really show that they have a
02:08sporting culture that they can also show the world?
02:11Hi.
02:12Thank you for having me.
02:13Absolutely.
02:14I think the French Indian community that we have here and everyone that's come from far
02:19just to come and support India in the Indian house have everything it takes to really bring
02:23India to the top, if I may say so.
02:27What makes India so special?
02:28We've got Narendra Modi, the Prime Minister.
02:31He has built a cricket stadium in Ahmedabad, the Narendra Modi Stadium.
02:35There are a lot of works going on in terms of creation of sports facilities.
02:40Do you think that India can host such a mega event like the Olympics?
02:44Oh, absolutely.
02:45We had Nita Ambani, one of the biggest billionaires in Asia, that came and inaugurated this Indian
02:50Olympic house here.
02:51So I think we have everything that it takes to actually host and have an amazing Olympic
02:55in India when we can.
02:57And the last word on the French Olympics, obviously it's still Paris.
03:01How have you enjoyed it?
03:02Oh, I loved it.
03:03I loved it.
03:04Honestly, Paris has never been so dynamic.
03:06I even went to a few matches myself and the support that the French team has.
03:11From all over the world, we had such big USA supporters, British supporters, Chinese supporters.
03:17Everyone is just so here and cheering for everyone else also.
03:21It's amazing.
03:22It's so cosmopolitan.
03:24It is so great.
03:25Giandra, thank you so much.
03:26And that is just a little taste of the ambiance and the vibe here at India House and at Porte
03:32de Villette in general.
03:33Back to you guys.
03:34All right.
03:35Our reporter, Jean-Aim├й Germain, reporting for us there from India House.
03:38Thank you so much for that sneak peek into the buzzing ambiance there.