CHENNAI: A day after a meeting between the Sports Authority of India (SAI) and head coaches including foreign, the selection process that was stalled on Sunday would go ahead with changed criteria. As reported by the New Indian Express, the Boxing Federation of India (BFI) had agreed to make the changes in the selection process for Commonwealth and Asian Games. SAI had stalled the selection process that was originally supposed to start on Monday due to ambiguity and lack of transparency.
The New Indian Express had reported on Monday that the BFI had agreed to make changes as suggested by the SAI and Target Olympic Podium Scheme top official. TOPS CEO NS Johal, too, was present in the meeting. The BFI formally sent their proposal to the SAI on Tuesday and the trials would commence on Wednesday. Peeved with lackadaisical approach of the BFI, SAI had stalled the trials on Sunday. The evaluation system will be based on sparring performance instead of assessment methodology.
Some of the suggestions included adopting a five-judge scoring system (1 head coach and four judges) to ensure fairness and transparency, announcement of scores immediately after the completion of each sparring bouts (like in main competitions), having a total of 12 Referees & Judges (R&J) during the evaluation process.
The evaluation camp will now be held at NS NIS Patiala from Wednesday to Friday. Both parties came to that verdict keeping in mind the boxers' interest. This is a welcome boost for the pugilists who were waiting for the camp to begin as weight management is one of the big challenges. The opening session is expected to start around 11 am while the afternoon session will begin from 3 pm.
As things stand, Preeti Pawar (women's 54kg), Priya Ghanghas (women's 60kg) and Sachin Siwach (men's 60kg) are among those who have qualified for both CWG and Asiad by reaching the finals of the Asian Championships held last month in Mongolia. Jaismine Lamboria (women's 57kg) and Arundhati Choudhary (70kg), meanwhile, are set for CWG.
Though the likes of Peeti and Priya won't be participating this time, there will be others who'll be competing in their weight categories with other international events like World Cup in mind. Big-hitters like Nikhat Zareen (51kg) and Lovlina Borgohain (75kg) will be looking to impress the judges during the evaluation camp.
This development is a relief for BFI but the federation will still have other things to address in the days to come. The sports ministry had handed the federation a show-cause notice on Monday seeking a detailed explanation on multiple fronts. They had questioned the selection of coaches that was apparently done without keeping SAI in the loop. The SAI and ministry also questioned the Chief of Army Staff Cup, which was held in Pune recently.
