MUMBAI: Boxing Federation of India (BFI) president Ajay Singh is among the 11 names nominated to represent Asia in the executive committee (EC) of the International Boxing Association (AIBA).
The development comes even as the International Olympic Committee issued a strongly worded statement Thursday warning that AIBA must tackle governance issues at its upcoming congress or it could face sanctions, even so far as being thrown out of the Olympics.
“The executive board of the IOC today (Thursday) expressed its ongoing extreme concern with the grave situation within the International Boxing Association and its current governance,” the IOC board said in a statement.
“These include the circumstances of the establishment of the election list and the misleading communication within the AIBA membership regarding the IOC’s position.”
The executive board, meeting in Buenos Aires ahead of the opening of the Youth Olympic Games on Saturday, said the troubles in AIBA affect “not just the reputation of AIBA and boxing but of sport in general”.
“Therefore, the IOC reiterates its clear position that if the governance issues are not properly addressed to the satisfaction of the IOC at the forthcoming AIBA Congress, the existence of boxing on the Olympic programme and even the recognition of AIBA as an International Federation recognised by the IOC are under threat.”
Meanwhile, Singh is expected to compete with members representing Korea, Indonesia, Japan, Mongolia, Nepal, Qatar, Singapore, Thailand and the UAE. All the nominations were approved by the AIBA election committee chairman Jost Schmid on Wednesday in the Swiss city of Lausanne.
The elections are scheduled to be held on 3 November during the AIBA’s annual conference in Moscow.
Singh’s administrative expertise can barely be questioned as he is currently a member of the Asian Boxing Confederation’s EC and also the co-founder of one of India’s top performing airlines, Spicejet.
Should Singh get elected, he will be the second Indian to represent the country in the AIBA EC since Kishan Narsi, whose tenure ended in 2015 after BFI’s foundation.
The AIBA elections could be a game-changer for boxing if Gafur Rakhimov is re-elected for the top job of President since the Uzbek has been accused of being a part of organized crime in the USA and fighting a legal battle for the same. His appointment could force the International Olympic Committee to ban boxing from the 2020 Olympic Games in Tokyo for the first time since 1912, having already stopped its funding for the organization.
The IOC had warned in July that boxing could be axed from the 2020 Tokyo Olympics if AIBA did not put its house in order.
