CHENNAI: Indian boxing seems to be in the soup at the moment. In a dramatic turn of events, the Indian Olympic Association formed a five-member ad-hoc committee on Monday to run the day-to-day affairs of the Boxing Federation of India (BFI). The IOA, in a letter to all the stakeholders, alleged administrative issues surrounding BFI and said the boxing federation’s inability to hold elections on time compelled them to take this extreme step.
Responding to this development, the BFI said this move is against the constitution of the IOA itself and PT Usha, as the president of the organisation, cannot form an ad hoc committee without the approval of the executive committee. For the time being, the IOA is divided between two warring factions — Usha on one side and some eight to 10 executive members are on the other side. Whether or not IOA’s ad hoc committee can continue also depends on other factors like the sports ministry and its recognition. As of now, the sports ministry has not reacted to this.
Going by the IOA letter, Madukant Pathak has been named the chairman of the aforementioned committee while Rajesh Bhandari has been appointed as vice chairman. Virendra Singh Thakur, Shiva Thapa and DP Bhatt are the other members. “The Indian Olympic Association (IOA) has been closely monitoring the administrative affairs of the Boxing Federation of India (BFI). As per the governing norms, elections to the IBF were to be conducted on or before 02 February 2025. However, despite the prescribed timeline, the elections have not been held, resulting in administrative instability within the federation,” the letter read.
Moreover, the IOA, in the same letter, also stated that it has received several complaints from stakeholders. “Furthermore, this office has received numerous complaints from stakeholders, including athletes, coaches, and concerned authorities, regarding the non-participation of Indian boxers in various important National/International events in recent months. This situation is detrimental to the growth and performance of Indian boxing on the global stage and necessitates immediate corrective measures.”
With barely any competitions, boxing is one of the sports in the country that has been fairly quiet since the Paris Games. The men’s national meet was held in early January in Bareilly (UP). However, the women’s equivalent, which was supposed to be held from February 21 to 28 in Lucknow was recently postponed to mid-March 2025. Some of the boxers including Olympic medallist Lovlina Borgohain had participated in the National Games in Uttarakhand. In October and November last year, youth boxers (both men and women) had participated at the U19 World Boxing Championships that was held in the USA.