India will try to host Olympic Qualifier too: BFI president Ajay Singh

Boxing Federation president Ajay Singh on Friday said that “India will definitely try to host" whatever event is designated as an Olympic qualifier after the IOC had decided that IBA Women’s World Championships, which will be held in New Delhi from March 16 to 26, will not have that status.

“We will definitely try and host whatever is a qualifying event. The International Olympic Committee (IOC) will take a call on what they will use as a qualifying event; whether it will be this event or it will be another championship. We will do our best to use the qualifier whenever that happens,” Singh said.

The International Boxing Association (IBA) had initially said that the New Delhi tournament will be an Olympic qualifier but the IOC had responded by saying that it would conduct its own qualification tournaments ahead of the Paris Olympics just as it did for Tokyo 2020.

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“The IOC is sending a team, including observers, for the championship. We have invited the IOC and they have very kindly accepted. India will be part of all leading championships of the world, whether it's the IBA championships or a qualifying championship. Of course, we had some hope that this would be deemed to be a qualifying championship but unfortunately, the IOC and IBA could not agree," Singh said.

“Nevertheless, it’s a premier championship of the world, it’s a big tournament for the women boxers. We are proud to host it. We will also talk to the IOC and see if whenever they have a particular championship they want to host for qualification, India will certainly throw its hat into the ring to host it as well. We are part of all important championships, no matter which body is hosting it."

The issue was raised after the IBA decided to allow Russian and Belarusian boxers to compete under their respective flags in its events, against the recommendation of the IOC due to the ongoing war between Russia and Ukraine.

A total of 11 countries – United States of America, Great Britain, Ireland, Canada, Sweden, Poland, Netherlands, Czech Republic, Ukraine, Switzerland and Norway – have pulled out of the World Championship.

The tournament will be held from March 15 to 26 at the Indira Gandhi Sports Complex here. Top names from the boxing world, including eight Olympics medallists, will fight for the title at the tournament which India will be hosting for the record third time. The event also has a prize pool of Rs.20 crore.

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