BFI Extends Assistance To Boxers To Participate In Nationals; Aims To Overrule Blocks Set By State Associations
The BFI president also announced a dedicated helpline for players to inform about any challenge they faced in competing in the Nationals
Insisting that state associations blocking the entries of players for the upcoming Senior Nationals for political reasons were doing a grave dis-service to the game, Boxing Federation of India president Ajay Singh insisted that they will foot the bill of those players who want to compete in the National championships and are affected due to the politics of the state bodies.
“If any state federation is stopping their boxers or canceling their tickets or canceling their arrangements, the Boxing Federation of India and me personally will pay for each one of those boxers to come and participate in the Nationals. We will provide them the tickets and the hotels and whatever else is required," Singh told media.
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“A helpline number (7003191553) will be available to them. Boxers can call this number and we will make the arrangements for them," Singh added.
The Elite Women Senior National Boxing Championships is scheduled to be held in Greater Noida from March 20-27 and some state associations who are at loggerheads with the BFI ahead of their elections have been blocking the entries of boxers for the Nationals.
“I must highlight this, especially for my friends from Assam who are present here—their team is being blocked from attending the national championships. In my view, Mr. Kalita and the Federation in Assam are responsible for this obstruction. We cannot ignore the interests of the players themselves.
“Politics is one thing, everyone has the right to contest elections and have political differences, but preventing athletes from competing in a national championship is a great disservice to the sport. This is something we must all stand against," said Singh.
Quashing allegations that the inquiry and subsequent suspension were politically motivated as Kalita has filled the nomination to contest against Singh in the upcoming elections, the BFI president presented the timeline of the inquiry committee and also explained that both Kalita and Singh were present in the Executive Committee when the decision was taken to investigate the charges of financial irregularities in the conduct of the REC Talent Hunt.
“The investigation was brought about because of a request from the Sports Authority of India to conduct this investigation and provide a detailed report to them."
Justice Jain found Kalita and Singh guilty of corruption and his report also spoke about how both the office bearers misused their position for personal gains.
“On the basis of that report, I have suspended the Secretary General and the Treasurer from their current responsibilities, and it is with the deepest regret that we need to take those actions to restore or maintain the credibility of the Federation that I happen to be president of at this point in time," Singh added.
To a question over whether any FIR will be registered against the two office bearers, Singh said the BFI has forwarded the report to SAI and any further action will be decided in consultation with them.
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