New Delhi, Mar 28 (PTI) Boxing Federation of India (BFI) chief Ajay Singh has been elected as the International Boxing Association (IBA) vice-president.
Singh’s appointed was confirmed during the IBA board of directors meeting, which was held following the conclusion of the Women’s World Championships here on Sunday.
Singh, who is in his second term as the BFI president, becomes IBA’s third vice-president and will stay in the role till 2026 alongside Volodymyr Prodyvus of Ukraine and Serbia’s Abdulmutalim Abakarov.
India hosted the Women’s World Championships for the third time and finished on top of the medals tally, fetching four golds.
Last month, they jumped to the third spot in the IBA rankings.
The BFI has also expressed interest in hosting the Men’s World Championships and is in talks with the International Olympic Committee (IOC) to host the Paris Olympic qualifiers.
“We will try to host all the big championships because that helps create a boxing culture in the country,” Singh had told reporters on the final day of the Women’s World Championships.
Several other topics were also discussed during the meeting ranging from the upcoming Men’s World Championships in Tashkent to planning for future international events.
The Croatian city of Porec will host the IBA Youth World Boxing Championships next year, while the IBA Junior World Championships this year in Mexico will see the return of competition for 15-16 year age group.
Croatia has hosted some major continental-level boxing competitions, but the Youth World Championships will be the first in the country.
The IBA said in a statement on Tuesday that the two events will provide opportunities to young boxers to showcase their skills and “motivate the younger generation to take up (the) sport”.
“Our meeting was a great opportunity for the IBA board of directors to come together and discuss important issues related to the future of boxing,” said IBA president Umar Kremlev.
“We will continue doing our utmost for our athletes, and the revival of the Junior World Boxing Championships is a great testimony to that. I am looking forward to witnessing a great step forward for the grassroots sport.”
Source: PTI News
