Greater Noida: On a day Indian boxers returned a rich haul of 20 medals at the World Boxing Cup here, fresh trouble seems to be brewing within Boxing Federation of India (BFI) with 28 members from the executive council signing a ‘no-confidence motion’ against president Ajay Singh.
The signatures were secured following a Special General Meeting (SGM) on Thursday morning with the dissenting members expressing their displeasure over the “malafide and arbitrary conduct of BFI” under Singh’s stewardship and the adoption of a constitution that the members felt was in contravention of the sports code. HT has a copy of the document.
Singh, who won a controversial, faction-ridden election recently, rubbished the motion. “There was an SGM today, and unfortunately a no-confidence motion was brought with 28 signatures. But the claim that it came from three-fourths of the members is absolutely incorrect,” he said.
“Many of the signatories are not even members. And the same members have also signed another petition expressing confidence in me, in significantly larger numbers. These issues are decided through elections. Elections have been held, certified by World Boxing, and recognised by the Government of India. Our focus must remain on boxing—on the athletes, on the camps, on the championships we must prepare for. We cannot be distracted by these things,” Singh said.
The elections await ratification pending a Delhi high court hearing although the newly elected BFI received its annual recognition from the sports minister on November 11 (copy with HT).
“World Boxing and the IOC themselves say that Indian boxing is on the rise. In championship after championship—Worlds where we finished third, the Youth Asian Championships where India won the highest number of medals among all sports, and now here with 20 medals—India is emerging as the new powerhouse of world boxing. We cannot afford to waste time on petty politics. We must stay focused on performance,” Singh added.
Further, commenting on next month’s men’s World Championships in Dubai to be conducted by IBA that has drawn boxers from 95 countries, including those who are also with World Boxing, Singh clarified that India will not send a team there.
“Our position is very clear: We want to focus on World Boxing Championships because our targets are the Commonwealth Games and Asian Games, and all these events help our qualification process for the Olympics. We do not want to be distracted or participate in events that may attract sanctions. We will not be sending our teams to that challenge,” Singh said.
