Ajay Singh, the president of the Boxing Federation of India (BFI), has been chosen to serve as one of the International Boxing Associations' vice presidents.
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Ajay Singh, the president of the Boxing Federation of India (BFI), has been chosen to serve as one of the International Boxing Associations’ vice presidents. During the Women’s World Championships in New Delhi on March 26, Singh’s appointment was officially announced during a meeting of the IBA Board of Directors. Singh serves as an associate vice-president of the Indian Olympic Association in addition to his position with the BFI. He is also the chairman and managing director of SpiceJet, the second-largest airline in India by fleet size. Together with Abdulmutalim Abakarov of Serbia and Volodymyr Prodyvus of Ukraine, Singh will hold the position of IBA vice-president till 2026.
Singh reaffirmed his commitment to resolve the ongoing disagreement between the International Olympic Committee (IOC) and the IBA. Currently, the IOC will oversee boxing at the 2024 Olympic Games in Paris, making it the second time in a row that the IOC has assumed control of an Olympic sport because of worries about the IBA’s leadership under Russian President Umar Kremlev. The sport’s inclusion in the Olympic Games in Los Angeles in 2028 is also in doubt because of an IOC Executive Board meeting that began on March 29.
“It’s in everybody’s interest that the issues between the IOC and IBA are resolved at the earliest,” Ajay Singh said in an interview with the Times of India. “For that, it’s important there’s a dialogue between the two bodies, and to the extent that India can assist in that dialogue, we will definitely do our best.
Singh further stated, “It’s basically a recognition of India’s growing power and importance in the world of boxing. It’s not an individual honor but for the entire country. This position will give me an opportunity to work even harder for the cause of Indian boxing. We often say that we need to bring up the whole infrastructure, i.e., to get more coaches, referees and judges and better trainers for our boxers. We need the latest sport science technique to ensure that our boxers get absolutely the best. I think this position in IBA will strengthen our ability to do all of this.”
The government of India recognized the Boxing Federation of India (BFI) as the national governing body of Boxing in India in 2016. Ajay Singh became the president of BFI during that time. Singh was then reelected as the President in 2021. He won the vote by a margin of 10 (37-27) as he was chosen for the second term. India hosted the Women’s World Boxing Championships 2023 in New Delhi under his leadership.
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