New Delhi: The Indian Olympic Association (IOA) has sprung into action after multiple boxers and stakeholders complained about the poor functioning of the Boxing Federation of India (BFI) and the non-participation of Indian boxers in national and international events in recent months. The IOA has formed an ad hoc committee to oversee the daily affairs of the BFI after the boxing body failed to hold elections on time.
The Indian Olympic Association decided on Monday to appoint a five-member ad-hoc panel to run daily affairs in BFI. The boxing body was supposed to hold the elections before February 02 this year. However, it failed to do so, inviting action from the IOA. Madhukant Pathak, the former treasurer of the Athletics Federation of India (AFI) will be heading the 5-member ad-hoc panel.
The IOA has urged the ad-hoc panel to conduct the elections at the earliest at BFI. “IOA has been closely monitoring the administrative affairs of the Boxing Federation of India. As per the governing norms, elections to BFI were to be conducted on or before 02 February 2025. Despite the prescribed timeline, the elections have not been held, resulting in administrative instability within the federation,” IOA President PT Usha wrote in an order.
Indian boxer Shiva Thapa is also part of the five-member ad-hoc panel along with the likes of DP Bhatt, Virendra Singh Thakur and Rajesh Bhandari. The decision from the IOA came after it received multiple complaints from boxers across categories about BFI’s failures in sending them to competitions.
Incumbent BFI chief Ajay Singh and secretary Hemanta Kumar Kalita were also apprised about the situation and were also asked to hold the elections in time to ensure the smoot functioning of the organisation and no intervention from the IOA. However, the BFI top brass failed to take action in time leading to the suspension.
BFI elections likely to be held in March
The Boxing Federation of India is likely to hold elections next month after the appointment of the ad-hoc panel. IOA chief PT Usha said the ad-hoc panel will take steps to conduct the elections fairly and will also address the complaints of the athletes and other stakeholders regarding the poor functioning of the body.
The Indian Olympic Association (IOA) has formed an ad-hoc panel to run daily affairs of the Boxing Federation of India after the BFI failed to hold elections in time. Other Sports Sports News: Latest Cricket News, Cricket Live Score, Sports Breaking News from Sports Today
