Fearing IOC sanctions, India withdraws from Asian elite boxing meet

NEW DELHI: India won’t have any representation at the upcoming ASBC Asian elite men’s and women’s boxing championships in Amman. TOI has learnt the Boxing Federation of India (BFI) has decided not to field teams at the meet fearing sanctions by the International Olympic Committee (IOC). The event will be held from Nov 28-Dec 12 in Jordan.
India’s decision was largely influenced by the IOC’s diktat to all affiliated National Olympic Committees (NOCs) that any association of their national federations with the suspended International Boxing Association (IBA) would result in the country’s non-participation in boxing events.
The organiser of the competition — Asian Boxing Confederation (ASBC) — is still affiliated to IBA, led by Russian businessman Umar Kremlev. The Asian meet has the IBA’s recognition and its entire team of referees, judges and technical support staff will be in Amman for the conduct of the tournament.
Any IOC-affiliated NOC and its member national federation would have faced an international ban from participating in future competitions if it had sent the contingent for the event. IBA’s lack of financial transparency led to IOC withdrawing its recognition in 2023 and subsequently suspending it.
At the last edition of the meet in 2022, which, too, was held in Amman, Indian boxers won an impressive 12 medals, including four gold. The country was ranked third among the participating nations in the medals’ table.
“India won’t participate in the Asian meet, it’s been decided. The same has been communicated to the organisers and IBA. We wanted to send a full-strength team of our top boxers but the country’s participation would have attracted the IOC’s wrath. It’s a fluid situation as far as global boxing is concerned. IBA is suspended because of its own problems and the IOC hasn’t recognised the new body – World Boxing. If we participate in events organised by IBA, it will attract sanctions. It’s better to avoid any potential conflict with the IOC,” a BFI source said.
Recently, India sent its team to the under-19 World boxing championships in Colorado, USA, an event recognised by the Switzerland-based breakaway body World Boxing (WB), where the country’s boxers delivered an impressive performance securing 17 medals, including four gold.
BFI, despite joining the World Boxing body in May this year, hasn’t severed all its ties with IBA. The boxing federation — headed by SpiceJet chairman Ajay Singh — doesn’t want to deprive the country’s boxers from competing in future IBA-sanctioned events till the time World Boxing puts a proper organizational structure in place and wins over the IOC’s trust to become the sole global governing body of the sport.