India joins breakaway body World Boxing, part ways with IOC-suspended International Boxing Association | Sport-others News

The Boxing Federation of India (BFI) has agreed to become a member of World Boxing, a breakaway governing body, which seeks to be the International Olympic Committee’s (IOC) preferred partner to run boxing tournaments at the Los Angeles Games in 2028.
The World Boxing is seeking to supplant the International Boxing Association, which was expelled from the Olympic movement last year after a long-running dispute with the IOC over IBA finances, ties to Russia and concerns about poor or unfair judging of bouts.
Boxing at the 2024 Paris Olympics is set to be overseen the IOC. It will be the second successive time, after the Tokyo Olympics, that the IBA will have no involvement in bouts at the mega-event.
“It is absolutely vital to the sustainability of boxing that it retains its Olympics status, so we are delighted to join World Boxing and look forward to working closely with the Executive Board and our fellow members to shape the future development of the sport and deliver a brighter future for boxers across the world,” BFI president Ajay Singh said in a press release.
“The BFI shares the same values and goals as World Boxing and are keen to play a leading role in its development. We also wish to be at the forefront of the formation and hosting of a new Asian confederation to ensure boxing continues to expand and grow its membership on the continent.”
World Boxing was launched in April 2023 and aims to ensure that boxing remains at the heart of the Olympic movement.
The membership application was approved the BFI’s General Assembly and will be ratified World Boxing’s Executive Board.
“India is a very important country in international boxing and we look forward to welcoming the BFI into the growing World Boxing family. This is a very exciting development which will significantly increase our presence in Asia and I look forward to working closely with the BFI in delivering our common goals,” Van der Vorst said.
“In both its public comments and during our recent meeting, the IOC has delivered a clear message to all National Federations that if they want boxers from their country to have the opportunity to compete at future Olympic Games then they must now join World Boxing. This is the only path that will see our sport remain in the Olympic Games after Paris 2024 and National Federations must act now and follow the example of the BFI if they want boxing to have any chance of still being part of the programme at Los Angeles 2028.”