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In exciting news for boxing fans in the country, the International Boxing Association (AIBA) confirmed on Monday that India would host both the Men's World Championship in 2021 and the Women's World Championship in 2018. Both the tournaments will be held in New Delhi.
The Men's World Championship was first held in 1974 in Havana, Cuba. There have been 18 tournaments since then, with the 19th slated to be held later in 2017 in Hamburg, Germany. Including the Hamburg edition, Germany and the United States would be the two countries to have hosted the Championships thrice, albeit in different cities. For India, the 2021 edition would be their first as the host nation.
India's medals tally at the Championships has not been impressive, with only three bronze medals at the 18 tournaments. There are sure signs of improvement, though, with all three medals coming in the last decade. India's first bronze was won by Vijender Singh in Milan in 2009, followed by Vikas Krishnan in Baku in 2011 and Shiva Thapa in 2015. India will hope that the home support for the boxers in the New Delhi edition would substantially increase that medal count.
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The Women's World Championship, meanwhile, started much later, with the first edition held in 2001 in Scranton, United States of America. There have been nine editions till date with China the only country to have been hosts twice, in 2008 and 2012. The last edition was held in Astana, Kazakhstan in 2016, with the 2018 edition slated to be held in India.
Unlike the men's tournament, however, India have hosted the Women's Championship before, in New Delhi in 2006. In a marked contrast from the men's performance at the Championships, the female boxers have performed admirably over the years, with a total of 28 medals in the nine editions. Eight of those are gold, primarily due to Indian legend Mary Kom's triumphs at Antalya (2002), Podolska (2005), New Delhi (2006), Ningbo City (2008), and Bridgetown (2010). In fact, India finished on top of the medals tally at the tournament held in New Delhi in 2006, with Sarita Devi, Jenny R. L. and Lekha K.C. also striking gold along with the ever reliable Kom. With their 28 medals, the Indian women are behind only Russia and China in the combined medals tally.
On Monday, AIBA's Executive Committee saw presentations by National Boxing Federations wishing to host major international AIBA competitions till 2021. After analysing the presentations, the 2019 and 2021 Men's World Championships were awarded to Sochi and New Delhi respectively. As for the Women's Championship, after the 2018 edition in New Delhi, Trabzon in Turkey will host the 11th edition, in 2019.
AIBA President Dr Ching-Kuo Wu said they were "excited to announce New Delhi as host city in 2021 as the Boxing Federation of India continues to show its commitment to developing the sport."
