Federation infighting, court battles and 2 new world champions: Indian boxing’s conflicted year
The year started on an unusually dull note, with boxers absent from most international competitions following a medal-less Olympic campaign.
But behind the silence, the sport was consumed by infighting within the Boxing Federation of India (BFI).
Selection plans have been halted, national championships have been disrupted, national coaching positions remain vacant and promotion abroad has taken a hit, with rival camps within the federation leaving athletes caught in the crossfire.
Election chaos and court battles
The crisis intensified in the BFI elections, which were supposed to be held before February 3 but were repeatedly postponed.
This also led to the Indian Olympic Association (IOA) appointing a special committee to govern the federation. The move was termed illegal by the BFI and was later stayed by the Delhi High Court.
Allegations of abuse of power, financial malfeasance and vicious turf wars within the federation soon surfaced. The Ajay Singh-led BFI suspended general secretary Hemanta Kalita and treasurer Digvijay Singh over allegations of financial irregularities, triggering legal challenges.
Amid the turmoil, former sports minister Anurag Thakur backed Singh’s challenge for the president’s post, but his candidacy was rejected following the controversial March 7 directive issued by Singh, which ruled that he was ineligible for the selection panel.
Thakur’s group – Himachal Pradesh Boxing Association – approached the courts on similar grounds, as did the Delhi unit whose chief’s name was removed from the selection panel.
Both challenged the legitimacy of the directive.
A long and ugly power struggle followed. The mudslinging reached such a point that even the Returning Officer resigned due to the smear campaign against him.
The turmoil had direct consequences for the boxers. The women’s senior National Championships, set to be held in November 2024, have been postponed multiple times.
They were finally held under a cloud of controversy in March. Many state units, including Madhya Pradesh and Assam, have banned their boxers from participating.
The controversy led Tokyo Olympics bronze medalist Lovlina Borgohain of Assam to withdraw her name.
World Boxing, the sport’s global governing body, stepped in to form an interim committee, appointing Singh as chief, to oversee the BFI’s affairs while elections continue to be postponed due to legal wrangling.
At the world body’s behest, the ad hoc committee amended the BFI charter and the March 7 directive was made a clause encouraging rival groups to once again resort to judicial intervention.
The impasse was broken in August when Singh was re-elected as BFI chairman for a third consecutive term despite ongoing legal cases.
However, both the IOA and the Ministry of Sports refused to send observers to the elections, raising questions about the legitimacy of the election.
Even after the new body was elected, opposition simmered. Some state units claim to have filed a no-confidence motion against Singh, challenging the validity of the amended constitution.
Singh denied the allegations, stating that several of the same members had signed documents reaffirming their trust in him.
Two new world champions
When the focus turned to competition, Indian boxers found their feet in the ring.
New national coaches were appointed: Dharmender Yadav for the men’s team and D Chandralal for the women’s team.
The Indian team returned from the Brazil and Kazakhstan legs of the World Boxing Cup with remarkable results.
However, attendance at the events was limited as World Boxing, which gained IOC recognition earlier in the year, attempted to set an international calendar.
The highlight of the year came at the World Championships in Liverpool, where Jaismine (57 kg) and Minakshi (48 kg) won gold medals.
Pooja Rani (80 kg) and Nupur Sheoran (80 kg) triumphed with bronze and silver medals respectively, reaffirming India’s growing strength in women’s boxing.
But the picture was not entirely rosy.
Established stars such as Nikhat Zareen and Borgohain, who returned after a long injury, could not deliver the performances expected from them.
It’s also worth noting that, apart from Jaismine’s title, her other podium finishes came in non-Olympic weight categories where the competitive field is relatively weaker.
But India seems to have found a boxer in Jaismine who has a chance of Olympic glory in 2028.
She was consistent throughout the season, defeating Paris Olympic silver medalist Julia Szeremeta of Poland in the World Championship final.
The men, on the other hand, suffered a huge decline at the World Championships and returned without a single medal for the first time in 12 years.
But there were hopeful signs.
Youngster Abhinash Jamwal has shown that he can flourish at the elite level after emerging from Shiva Thapa’s shadow, while Sachin Siwach and Pawan Bartwal have also shown potential.
India hosted the much-hyped season-ending World Cup finals and the home team achieved a record 20 medals, including nine golds.
However, this did not reflect a great performance, as the draws were short, the top-ranked boxers skipped the tournament, and podiums in the heavyweight categories were awarded for participation only.
Shortly after the event, the return of former high performance director Santiago Nieva was announced, this time as head coach of the women’s team, marking the beginning of an interesting new chapter.
