The Indian Olympic Association (IOA) announced an ad-hoc committee on Monday to oversee the Boxing Federation of India (BFI) due to ongoing “administrative instability” in the federation.
This comes nine months after the Ajay Singh-led BFI decided to align with the Western powers-backed breakaway World Boxing, and seven months after Indian boxers returned without a medal at the Paris Olympics.
The tenure of the BFI office-bearers with Ajay Singh as president ended on February 2 but elections have not been held. Hindustan Times had reported about the administrative logjam in BFI and the delay in holding elections.
“The IOA has been closely monitoring the administrative affairs of BFI. As per the governing norms, elections to BFI were to be conducted on or before February 2, 2025. However, despite the prescribed timeline, the elections have not been held, resulting in administrative instability within the federation,” IOA president PT Usha said in a letter issued on Monday.
Usha said she has received “numerous complaints” from stakeholders, including athletes, coaches and officials regarding “non-participation” of Indian boxers in various national and international events in recent months. The Women’s national championships has been postponed twice.
“This situation is detrimental to the growth and performance of Indian boxing on the global stage and necessitates immediate corrective measures,” Usha said.
Singh, who has spent two terms at the BFI helm, asserted IOA’s decision “lacks any valid authority in law and is in clear violation of due process”. BFI also said that it will move the Delhi High Court seeking immediate quashing of the IOA order.
“The Boxing Federation of India strongly condemns the creation of an ad-hoc panel to manage its affairs, calling it illegal and a blatant attempt to violate the autonomy of a National Sports Federation (NSF). This has also been communicated in a letter by President, BFI to President, Indian Olympic Association,” BFI said in its statement.
In his letter, Singh said the BFI was neither given any prior notice nor any opportunity to present its position.
“It remains unclear whether this decision was taken with the due approval of the IOA executive committee, further casting doubt on its legitimacy,” he said.
He added that no decision could be made on a National Sports Federation (NSF) without prior consultation with the relevant “international federation”.
On the matter of relevant “international federation” though, Singh is clearly on shaky ground. The formation of World Boxing, actively supported by outgoing International Olympic Committee president Thomas Bach notwithstanding, the world governing body of the sport remains the International Boxing Association (IBA).
The fact remains that the Indian boxing landscape is marked by uncertainty following the Paris Olympics, with the BFI missing key international tournaments and delaying national training camps. Notably, the women’s national championship has been postponed multiple times, adding to the concerns.
Since the Olympics, senior Indian boxers have not competed internationally.
The prestigious Strandja Memorial Tournament, set to begin in Sofia, Bulgaria, on Saturday, is the latest high-profile event where Indian boxers will be absent.
India had also skipped the Asian Championship last November, owing to BFI’s alignment with World Boxing.
Indian boxing is also without a high performance director since the controversial departure of Bernard Dunne last March. Although BFI invited applications for a new HPD in July, no appointment has been made yet.
While Singh needs a two-thirds majority to be elected for a third term (as per the National Sports Code), his critics said that 24 state associations had written to the BFI president to conduct the polls, to no avail.
