The Ajay Singh-led interim committee of the Boxing Federation of India, fully backed by World Boxing (WB), held its first meeting on Monday and took “significant decisions” to revitalise the grassroots structure and boost India’s medal prospects at upcoming international competitions.
It is worth noting that the Singh-led BFI was among the first national federations in Asia to align with WB in the early days of the Western powers-backed body’s manoeuvring to take control of the sport at the global stage, so its endorsement of BFI under the current dispensation, despite the governance concerns it has been facing flak for, is but par for the course.
For the record, WB set up the interim committee under the chairmanship of Singh on April 7 to run day to day affairs of the federation (which it was doing in any case).
“On Monday, the committee convened virtually and took concrete decisions that were affecting the functioning of Indian boxing which had meet a deadlock since the beginning of this year,” a BFI release read.
“The committee took decisions to immediately rejuvenate the domestic circuit as well as restart the elite boxing system. It was also decided that the selections of coaches and support staff for the Elite Men and Women National Coaching Camps will be actioned with immediate effect,” the release added.
The committee had been constituted with immediate effect (on April 7) for a period not exceeding 90 days. Additionally, the committee was required to submit its first report to WB within 30 days, outlining the steps taken, processes adopted, and the roadmap ahead.
Other key decisions that were taken at the meeting including, effective participation of India’s budding boxers in the U-15 and U-17 Asian Championships in Amman, Jordan, commencing 17th April, also ensuring smooth conduct of the Youth U-19 National Championships with maximum participation and disbursing the REC Scholarship funds to the athletes, which has been pending for last couple of months.
The committee also decided to release the REC grant for grassroots equipment support to selected and approved academies to strengthen and promote boxing to newer locations in the country.
