Commonwealth Games 2018 quotas for Indian boxers reduced to 10 from 13

What's the story?

Ahead of the 2018 Commonwealth Games in Gold Coast, Australia, India has been dealt a huge blow on the boxing front. The number of quota places being made available to the country have reportedly been reduced to 10 by the Indian Olympic Association (IOA), from the originally allocated 13 by the Commonwealth Games Federation (CGF).

Sources close to Sportskeeda in the Boxing Federation of India (BFI) have confirmed the development and said that all efforts are underway to have the number back to 13 again, given India's strong record in boxing at international events.

In case you didn't know

The 2018 Commonwealth Games will be held in Gold Coast, Australia and will begin on April 4. Boxing will be one of 26 sports that will be contested with 16 medal events in the fray.

The heart of the matter

According to reports, a major reason behind this call is an ongoing tussle between Boxing Federation of India's (BFI) president Ajay Singh and Indian Olympic Association's (IOA) chief N Ramachandran.

This will come as a huge blow to India's boxers, who have always done well at the Commonwealth level. Last time around in Glasgow, India took part in 11 categories and clinched a total of five medals.

What's next?

It remains to be seen whether the BFI will be successful in its bid to have the quotas upped back to 13.

Sportskeeda's Take

It is really sad to see our country's sportsmen suffering due to internal bureaucratic tussles. Because of this struggle, at least three worthy Indian boxers will miss out on a chance to represent the nation and win laurels.

One hopes that the issue is resolved and that the boxers get as many chances as possible to bring back medals.