New Delhi has officially announced as the host of this year’s Asian Boxing Confederation (ASBC) Elite Boxing Championships.
The event is due to take place from May 21 to 31, with the Indian capital set to welcome Asia’s best boxers two months before the Olympic Games.
The KH Jadhav Indoor Hall is predicted to be the venue that has hosted the International Boxing Association (AIBA) Women’s World Boxing Championships in 2018.
New Delhi was originally planned to stage this year’s AIBA Men’s World Boxing Championships before the event was moved to the Serbian capital Belgrade.
The Boxing Federation of India (BFI) was stripped of the rights after AIBA claimed the organization had not paid the hosting fee required as part of the Host City Agreement despite “numerous reminders”.
Following the move, the BFI accused AIBA of taking a “hasty” decision “without consultation”, but the world regulating body said it felt it had “no choice”.
According to AIBA President Umar Kremlev, the issue was resolved and the relationship with the BFI is no longer fractious.
The ASBC said it chose India as host of the 2021 Elite Boxing Championships as it regarded BFI President Ajay Singh and his team as “professional” and experienced in staging big international competitions.
Bangkok in Thailand staged the last edition of the event in 2019 which saw China top the medal standings ahead of Uzbekistan, India, Kazakhstan, and Chinese Taipei.
It also set the record for the number of boxers and partaking countries, with 192 male and 112 female fighters representing 34 nations.
Singh was re-elected as head of the BFI last month after seeing off the challenge of Ashish Shelar.
The election had been due to take place in September before it was put on hold twice.
The delay in the election, caused by the COVID-19 pandemic, prompted one of the BFI’s members to seek an intervention from a Delhi High Court to ensure it could be held.
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At the BFI’s request, an observer from AIBA – Yury Zaytsev – was present at the election to ensure it was “free and fair”.
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