Senior Women's National Boxing Championship termed illegal by ad hoc committee

Indian boxing still dealing with infighting

The ad hoc committee, assigned by the AIBA, described Boxing India’s (BI) Senior Womens’s ‘National Championship’ illegal and has asked the Sports authority of India to take action against its organisers.

BI has no intentions of putting curtains to the women's Nationals in Bongaigaon, Assam, from Tuesday, despite being categorically warned by the ad hoc committee not to do so.

The ad hoc committee briefed SAI director general Injeti Srinivas, one of its members, that BI has taken Sports minister Sarbanda Sonowal for a ride on its legal standings, and was setting up the national championships inspite of two warnings from the ad hoc, in writing, to stop the proceedings.

"We told Injeti Srinivas that BI can't call its event the national championships since it is not recognised by the sports ministry or the Indian Olympic Association. I also said that I had written to BI interim president Meren Paul twice in this regard," Kishen Narsi, chairman of the ad hoc committee, told Mail Today.

"The world body has given the ad hoc committee the right to run boxing in India, but even we can't name our championships Nationals without taking permission from the sports ministry and AIBA."

According to Narsi, the boxing calender till next year’s Rio de Janerio Olympics was also dealt with in the meeting.

"We have big competitions like Olympic qualifiers and Women's World Championships coming up. We want to hold camps and send teams. So we prepared a calendar and informed Srinivas about it since SAI is the authority to pass it."

The ad hoc commite also had a confrontation with the coordination board which was formed to carry out the daily affairs of boxing in the country.

"I pray that Boxing India doesn't name its competition the National Championships as it may invite AIBA's legal action against India's boxing fraternity. Even the ad hoc and co-ordination committees want to organise the Nationals, but we won't do so without taking permission from AIBA and sports ministry because the competition won't have any validity without their nod," Asit Banerjee, chairman of the co-ordination board, told Mail Today.

According to BI interim secretary Rakesh more than 300 boxers would engage themselves in the Bongaigaon event.

"We have no intention of cancelling the National Championships. More than 300 boxers and nearly 30 state bodies have confirmed their participation and we are keen to organise the event in the best possible manner."