Men’s team and six women boxers, preparing for next month’s World Boxing Championships, are yet to travel for camp in Sheffield ahead of the major event
Navneet Singh
The Indian boxing contingent, set to compete at the World Championships in Liverpool from September 4, is still waiting for travel visas. Only four women boxers, including Nikhat Zareen and Pooja Rani, have received their visas and left for the pre-training camp in Sheffield. The remaining six women boxers and the entire men’s team of 10 are still at the National Institute of Sports in Patiala.
However, the coaches associated with the men’s team and two women’s coaches have already reached England and are waiting for the boxers to arrive.
“All the ten male boxers are here in Patiala as we are waiting for a visa to travel to England,” one of the boxers told SportsBackstory.com.
Pre Training Camp
The camp in Sheffield will conclude on September 2, while the World Championships begin on September 4 in Liverpool.
“It has affected our training plans. We were looking to reach early and be part of the camp in Sheffield. Now we might not get much time before the tournament starts,” said a coach.
The four women who got visas have already reached England. “The other female boxers will travel after August 22,” one of the officials familiar with the development said.
BFI elections
One of the reasons for the delay is linked to women’s chief boxing coach Chandra Lal, who is also president of the Kerala state boxing unit and is expected to play a key role in the August 21 elections of the Boxing Federation of India (BFI). At the BFI executive body elections in March, Chandra Lal was one of the candidates for president. This time he isn’t contesting but is backing outgoing president Ajay Singh, who appointed him head coach of the women’s team. Singh is representing Uttarakhand in the elections.
The BFI elections have been at the centre of controversy, with internal tussles for power taking centrestage. The elections, once postponed in March, will take place in Gurgaon on Thursday. Officials have already started reaching the venue. Singh, who is also Chairman and Managing Director of SpiceJet airlines, is seeking a third term. Former international boxer and Olympian Jaslal Pradhan from Sikkim is the other candidate for president. Jaslal has been backed by Singh’s rival group led by Himachal Pradesh, though it remains to be seen how many votes he can secure. It is too early to predict whether state units will favour the former boxer to take over the reins of the BFI, as lobbying for votes heats up.
World Boxing observer
The elections are being conducted under a World Boxing interim committee led by Singapore Boxing President Fairuz Mohammed.
Three candidates each are in the fray for secretary general and treasurer. Pramod Kumar, former treasurer Digvijay Singh and Neeraj Jain are contesting for secretary general’s post, while Pon Baskaran, R. Gopu and Anil Bohidar are in the race for treasurer.
The BFI elections have also reached the Delhi High Court. The state units of Delhi, Madhya Pradesh, Gujarat and Himachal Pradesh have challenged the BFI interim committee’s decision to hold the polls as well as the validity of the amended constitution. The court on Monday allowed the elections to go ahead, pending the outcome of the petitions.
