NEW DELHI: Close on the heels of the Wrestling Federation of India confirming plans to offer central contracts to its top athletes next year, the Boxing Federation of India (BFI) announced it would be doing the same for its highest ranked pugilists within the next six months.
“Central contracts are something we have been working on for a while now. We should be able to come up with contracts for our boxers in six months,” BFI president Ajay Singh told PTI on the sidelines of the logo and anthem launch of the women’s World Championships scheduled here from November 15 to 24.
Singh said once introduced, the contracts will make Indian boxers financially strong. “We will come up with a gradation system. It means we will grade our boxers depending on their performance and achievements,” he said. “The A grade boxers will get the highest amount, followed by the boxers in grade B and C. It is still a work in progress, so the amount is yet to be decided.”
Singh’s comments came a day after Tribune India reported that the WFI would offer central contract to its top wrestlers.
The decision was taken here on Tuesday during a meeting attended by the country’s top grapplers, WFI officials, as well as the federation’s commercial partner Sporty Solutionz.
Prominent wrestlers who attended the meeting included two-time Olympics medallist Sushil Kumar, London Olympics Bronze-medal winner Yogeshwar Dutt, 2018 World Championships Silver medallist Bajranj Punia, Pooja Dhanda, Vinesh Phogat and Divya Kakran.
The Tribune reported that that the national federation would offer contracts to around 150 wrestlers. Incidentally, BCCI currently has 45 centrally contracted players — 26 men and 19 women.
The daily, quoting sources, further reported that grapplers would be placed in nine categories, from category A to I. The wrestlers in A category are expected to draw Rs 3 million annually, while those in the lowest category are likely to get Rs 36,000.
As per the plan, wrestlers will have to take the National Championships very seriously as it will form the basis of the contract system. The winners at the Nationals will come directly under the scheme.
