New Delhi, Feb 26 Olympic bronze medallist pugilist Vijender Singh has advocated for increased foreign exposure for Indian boxers to increase their chances of winning a medal at the 2028 Los Angeles Games. In addition, he called for new and fair elections in the Boxing Federation of India (BFI).
Since the Paris Olympics, boxing has been relatively quiet. In October and November of last year, youth boxers (both men and women) competed at the U19 World Boxing Championships in the USA.
The men's national championships took place in early January in Bareilly (UP), while the women's competition, originally scheduled for February 21-28 in Lucknow, has been postponed.
Some boxers, including Tokyo Olympic bronze medallist Lovlina Borgohain, participated in the National Games in Uttarakhand.
"The way our country is progressing in sports, I strongly feel that Indian boxers must get more foreign exposure in competitions from now onwards to secure medals at the LA Olympics 2028," Vijender posted on X on Wednesday.
"For that, we need to conduct fresh and fair elections ASAP to build a strong federation. I will be more than happy to contribute my experience if given any responsibility by our government. @PMOIndia @mansukhmandviya," he added.
On Monday, the Indian Olympic Association (IOA) formed a five-member ad hoc committee, including senior boxer Shiva Thapa to manage day-to-day affairs of BFI, citing administrative instability within the federation and its inability to hold elections on time.
The tenure of the current BFI office-bearers ended on February 2, but the elections could not be conducted following a case over the previous elections in which the order has gone against the BFI.
The ad hoc panel will be headed by Madukant Pathak with Rajesh Bhandari has been appointed as vice chairman. Virendra Singh Thakur, Shiva Thapa and DP Bhatt are the other members of the committee.
The ad hoc panel will "address the grievances raised by the boxing community, facilitate athlete participation in upcoming international competitions, and work towards conducting the IBF elections at the earliest".
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