CHENNAI: The IBA Women’s World Championships was recently conducted with great fanfare in New Delhi. Over 300 pugilists from around the world were part of it as India topped the table with four gold medals. However, the future of the sport is still uncertain with the International Boxing Association (IBA), not being recognised by the International Olympic Committee (IOC).
In fact, USA and Ireland were among several nations that had boycotted the just-concluded championships due to issues surrounding the IBA. The world body has been under suspension since 2019 due to governance issues and concerns surrounding refereeing and judging.
The IBA underwent a series of reforms but the IOC officials upheld their ban late last year seeking a ‘drastic change of culture’. The world body, on its part, has been adamant about clearing its name and regaining recognition.
On Wednesday, the IBA said that the boxing fraternity will be gathering in Lausanne, where IOC’s headquarters is located, to stage a protest. “The IBA has welcomed the support of the sport’s athletes and coaches, who are gathering today in Lausanne to call for boxing to regain Olympic recognition,” an IBA release stated.
IOA urged to appoint CEO, secy
The International Olympic Committee (IOC) during its Executive Board meeting on Wednesday has urged the Indian Olympic Association (IOA) to appoint a CEO at the earliest. "The EB took note that further to its decision on the 6th of December, 2022, the NOC election successfully took place with the election of a new president, the IOC formally acknowledges the results of that election and confirms that the 2023 IOC session will take place in Mumbai. However, the NOC has not yet appointed a new CEO or secretary general in accordance with the NOC constitution. The IOC EB subsequently urged the NOC of India to finalise the appointment process without any further delay in order to finally normalise the situation," the IOC said.
Meanwhile, the International Boxing Association had recently sent an open letter to the IOC, sharing its concerns ‘regarding basic IOC governance, impartiality, and transparency principles seen during the monitoring process ahead of Paris 2024’.
The IOC also discussed the matter during the meeting on Wednesday and refuted all the allegations. The executive board said they will analyze the state of IBA and address the matter in due time.