At least 11 countries have boycotted the Women's World Boxing Championships and many have also pulled out of the Men's World Championships in Tashkent.
Follow Us
The International Olympic Committee (IOC) is reportedly sending a team of observers to the International Boxing Association (IBA) Women’s World Boxing Championships in New Delhi, according to Ajay Singh, the President of the Boxing Federation of India. Singh hopes that the event, which begins on March 15th and runs until March 26th, will help to improve relations between the IOC and the IBA, which have been strained since the controversial re-election of Russian official Umar Kremlev as President of the governing body last year.
Singh had hoped that the IBA Women’s World Boxing Championships would serve as a Paris 2024 qualifier, but the IOC and the IBA could not agree on this. Nevertheless, he expressed India’s interest in hosting a qualification event for the Olympics, stating that “whether it will be results from here or whether it will be other Championships, whatever it is, we will try to host that qualifier whenever that happens.” The IOC has approved a qualification system for boxing at Paris 2024, which includes the use of continental games and two world qualification tournaments.
Read more: Know the mascot of Women’s World Boxing Championships 2023
India is due to host this year’s IOC Session in Mumbai from October 15th to 17th and has expressed interest in hosting the 2036 Olympics. Singh hopes that the upcoming Women’s World Boxing Championships will help to strengthen relations between the IBA and the IOC, despite the IBA’s suspension by the IOC in 2019 due to concerns related to governance, financial transparency and sustainability, and the integrity of its refereeing and judging processes.
Relations between the IBA and IOC have deteriorated further since Kremlev secured his position as President at an Extraordinary Congress in Yerevan in September last year, where delegates voted against staging a fresh election despite a previous decision to declare Boris van der Vorst ineligible earlier in the year in Istanbul. The IOC has warned that boxing could be dropped altogether at Paris 2024 after the IBA renewed its ties with Russian majority-state-owned energy giant Gazprom and allowed athletes from Russia and Belarus to compete under their own flag despite the war in Ukraine, contrary to the IOC’s recommendations.
Read more: Indian Team announced for IBA Women’s World Boxing Championships 2023
As a result, at least 11 countries have boycotted the Women’s World Boxing Championships, and many have also pulled out of the Men’s World Championships in Tashkent from May 1st to 14th. The IBA has launched disciplinary proceedings against five officials, including Boxing New Zealand President Steve Hartley, for “inciting a boycott”. In response, Hartley has revealed that an alternative competition will be staged in The Netherlands.
Kosovo has faced visa issues attempting to enter India for the Women’s World Boxing Championships, and last year’s lightweight bronze medalist Donjeta Sadiku is at risk of missing out, as she did at the 2018 edition in New Delhi. The IBA has pledged to provide financial assistance to athletes from countries boycotting the World Championships to enable them to participate, while Kremlev has described officials who shunned its flagship events as “worse than hyenas and jackals”.
