We made an exception last week, though, for confirmation of India's ambitious plans to bid for a triple header of the 2026 Summer Youth Olympic Games, the 2030 Asian Games and the 2032 Summer Olympic Games.

The emergence of these plans in recent months has not generated too much excitement from colleagues who attended the 2010 Commonwealth Games in Delhi.

"There are three certainties in life," said one. "Death, taxation and that I am not going back to a sporting event in Delhi again."

Many of the stories to me seemed very familiar to the Rio Olympics. Running out of time, plumbing and hygienic problems in the Athletes' Village, shortcuts at venues and a lingering sense of doom about the next impending catastrophe.

The Organising Committee's chairman Suresh Kalmadi and secretary general Lalit Bhanot each eventually spent time in jail on various corruption charges relating to Games-related contracts. When the Committee was belatedly disbanded in June last year, 12 years after being formed, it was reportedly still facing 42 cases of outstanding payments, adding up to around Rs700 crore (£84 million/$109 million/€96 million).

I was told that the reputation of the event became so bad in India that some employees used to ignore their time there when writing CVs. Mentioning it would harm future employment prospects.

Indian sporting problems have continued and potential has remained unfulfilled.

The Indian Olympic Association (IOA) was suspended by the International Olympic Committee (IOC) in December 2012 when Bhanot - directly - and Kalmadi - indirectly - were found to still be involved. This suspension was lifted 14 months later during the Winter Olympics in Sochi after World Squash Federation President N. Ramachandran was elected chairman. 

But even Ramachandran seemed to spend most of his time battling desperately to keep the ship from sinking rather than charting a steady course. Most stories we wrote on India over the next three years involved some sort of faction, rivalry or dispute.

IOC President Thomas Bach even recommended that the country postpone its plans to enter the race for the 2024 Summer Olympic and Paralympic Games when he visited India in 2015. It is still thought to mark the only occasion when he has publicly discouraged a bid since taking office.

The country has also failed to build on the shooting gold medal won by Abhinav Bindra at Beijing 2008. They won six medals at London 2012, but no golds, and then just a solitary silver and bronze at Rio 2016. Even men's hockey, an event they traditionally dominated, has not produced a medal since Moscow 1980.

Indian sport is also ravaged with doping problems and their performances at April's Commonwealth Games in Gold Coast were partially overshadowed by violations of the "no needle" policy. Even their participation at youth events has been clouded by allegations of "age doping". 

So, what has changed now?

Three things, in an organisational sense.

The IOA, under its new President Narinder Batra, now seem to have a sense of unity and purpose. They are solving the various administrative disputes and are beginning to plan for the future rather than solely manage crises.

Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi also appears to have realised the importance of sport as a soft power tool. He convened a Task Force to improve on the results at Rio 2016 while the success of China, South Korea and many other Asian countries in using sport to raise their wider profile domestically and internationally has been noticed.

Thirdly, and most importantly, is the growing interest from Indian big business including the Ambani family.

Nita Ambani has been an IOC member since 2016 and is also co-owner of the Mumbai Indians Indian Premier League (IPL) cricket team. She and her husband Makesh, the head of Mumbai-based conglomerate, Reliance Industries, also effectively control the Indian Super League football.

Major figures from other big companies, including Tata Steel and IOC TOP sponsor Dow Chemicals, seem similarly interested and showed this when Bach visited again in April this year.

The German was reluctant to praise India's chances too much at a press conference during that visit but, unlike in 2015, neither did he advise them against bidding.

The IOC are certainly now taking notice.

"People who look backwards at the past problems of hosting major sporting events in India are missing the points," says Jon Tibbs, the chairman of British-based consultancy, JTA, who are keeping an eye on Indian opportunities as much as anyone. "We have to look forward and see the potential opportunities and JTA, for one, does not want to miss out."

The sports market is often good at taking advantage of the good times, and the World Bank this week forecast India as the world's fastest growing economy over the next three years. 

Will India remain as desirable up to 2030 or 2032? Brazil, of course, was a hugely attractive market in 2009. Less so by 2016.

When you consider that India boasts a population of 1.3 billion and is the sole lingering largely uncharted sports market so far as the Olympics is confirmed, is it not a gamble worth taking?

The IOC may agree and conclude that, after two Summer Olympics in the comparatively safe markets of Paris and Los Angeles, it may be time to gamble again for 2032.

Of course, they may regret this if, in 14 years time, we have Delhi 2010 mark two - mark three if you include Rio - and preparations are languishing amid chaotic organisation and soaring costs. I can only imagine some of the headlines about water pollution, for instance...

Plenty of pitfalls remain.

The sport/Government/business coalition described above remains fragile. Modi faces an election next year and a potential replacement could be far less interested in sport.

Indian Sports Minister Rajyavardhan Singh Rathore said earlier this year they would focus on grassroots sport rather than big ticket events in the short-term, but the Government now appears to have changed its tune.

A New Indian Express editorial published yesterday was entitled "Don't bid for the Olympics".

"Petrol and diesel prices have gone through the roof. Inflation has not come down," it began. "The elements still keep ravaging the fortunes of farmers. There is scarcity of food. There are no homes for the poor. And yet we are once again talking about hosting the Olympic Games whose cost is equivalent to the GDP of a small country."

The article disputed the benefits of recent sporting events including the Under-17 FIFA World Cup last year. "Let's not hide behind the garb of nationalism and bully our way into bidding," it concluded. "No sane nation wants to host the Asian Games because of the financial burden."

Two areas which organisers and the IOC would simply have to get right concern a) how to ensure a successful delivery in India and b) how to appeal to the Indian public.

The second point here appears fairly obvious: cricket. The sport is head and shoulders above any other in India and the IPL is already one of the most lucrative sports leagues in the world. A recent ESPN "World Fame 100" list included four cricketers and had current and former captains Virat Kohli and Mahendra Singh Dohni 13th and 15th respectively in a top 20 otherwise dominated by football, tennis and major North American leagues.

Ironically, it is India which has jeopardised previous attempts to incorporate cricket into multi-sport events, and the sport is fraught with political challenges. India did not enter male or female teams in the 2014 Asian Games in Incheon and the sport has been omitted from the programme for this year's event in Jakarta and Palembang. But a Twenty20 cricket tournament featuring all the best teams would instantly garner domestic attention.

They could also think about considering kabaddi, another sport hugely popular in India which has been successfully pioneered at Asian Games level.

More must be done to raise the profile of other major Olympic sports, such as athletics, swimming and gymnastics. But the likes of wrestling and badminton - where players such as Saina Nehwal and P.V. Sindhu are superstars - as well as shooting and hockey are already immensely popular.

A second edition of the Ultimate Table Tennis League, a mixed team IPL-style auction event featuring a combination of Indian and top international players, is about to begin across Kolkata, Pune and New Delhi. The first event last year was endorsed by Bollywood stars and featured innovations including a quickfire three-set format. It was a big success and underlines the potential for Olympic sports.

Many venues exist already in Delhi and costs could therefore, in theory at least, be kept low.

The IOC's "New Norm" approach of working more closely alongside Organising Committees would seemingly suit India. The Commonwealth Games Federation did not have the logistical might of an IOC Coordination Commission to do this before Delhi 2010. The organisation's then-chief executive Mike Hooper became so unpopular that effigies were burnt of him in the street. I have a feeling that IOC executive director Christophe Dubi may not look so effortlessly suave after seven years dealing with Indian organisation, but his calmness and Rio experience would potentially deem him the perfect man for the job. 

One idea put to me by an Olympic insider today is to capitalise on India's outsourcing reputation by using businesses to play a more direct organisational role - rather than relying on the sporting and Governmental bureaucracy.

This is an interesting idea, but clearly the IOC would require all their diplomatic and organisational know-how. 

Starting with a smaller event such as the Youth Olympics - "age doping" concerns aside - and even the 2021 IOC Session in Mumbai, which could take place in a conference centre currently being developed by the Ambani family, would certainly be more feasible in the short-term. 

Beyond that, who knows? But I expect last week may not be the only Saturday afternoon where we get distracted by India over the next few years.