IOA Announces Ad-Hoc Panel to Manage Affairs of Boxing

INDIAN boxing seems to be in soup at the moment. In a dramatic turn of events, the Indian Olympic Association formed a five-member ad-hoc committee on Monday to run the day-to-day affairs of the Boxing Federation of India (BFI).

- Indraneel Das & Anmol Gurung @Chennai

The IOA, in a letter to all the stakeholders, alleged administrative issues surrounding BFI and said that the boxing federation's inability to hold elections on time compelled them to take this extreme step.

Responding to this development, the BFI said this move is against the constitution of the IOA itself and PT Usha, as the president of the organization, cannot form an ad-hoc committee without the approval of the executive committee. Additionally, they are set to challenge the decision legally through court. For the time being, the IOA is divided between two warring factions—Usha on one side and some eight to ten executive members on the other. Whether or not IOA's ad-hoc committee can continue also depends on other factors like the sports ministry and its recognition. As of now, the sports ministry has not reacted to this. Interestingly, the sports ministry has not spoken about de-affiliation, which means the funding and other support will not stop.