Ticket sale for Rio Olympics begins in India

NEW DELHI: The sale of tickets in India for the Rio Olympics to be held later this year was launched today after a sports and experiential travel company was entrusted with the job by Indian Olympic Association.

' Fanatic Sports' got the nod from the International Olympic Committee as the official Indian Authorised Ticket Reseller for Rio 2016.

As the exclusive ATR for Rio Olympics, all Indians travelling to Brazil for the Games will have to purchase tickets from 'Fanatic Sports'.

The IOA floated a tender on its website and 'Fanatic Sports' won after a bidding contest.

"Earlier, we had a different process, selling the tickets and doing the hospitality part (of the ticket holders). Actually, we were not geared up to do that. We have enough on our plate. So, we decided to do it differently this time," IOA President N Ramachandran told a press conference.

"We put up the tender on our website and there was bidding and Fanatic Sports won it," he said.

Asked if the Indian athletes taking part in the Olympics will get tickets for their family members on preferential basis, Ramachandran said that whoever makes request to the IOA for tickets will be forwarded to 'Fanatic Sports'.

"We have to give some tickets to the NSFs and state Olympic Associations. We have got some demands from the public also. We will forward all these to Fanatic Sports," he said.

One of the founders of 'Fanatic Sports', Raghav Gupta said that under the rules framed by 2016 Rio Olympic Games Organising Committee, every athlete will get two tickets for their families and relatives.

"For the first time in the country, fans can buy Olympic tickets online. We have developed a website for this. The minimum cost of a ticket is Rs 5000 for a single session and there will be 16,00 sessions in 42 disciplines. We have got tickets for almost all the sessions and the window for buying tickets is open till June," Gupta said.