NEW DELHI: The IBA women’s World Championships, starting next week, will not be counted as the main qualifying event for Paris Games 2024 because the International Olympic Committee (IOC) and International Boxing Association (IBA) failed to reach a consensus regarding the qualification status of the biennial event.
Last month, the IBA, the sport’s global governing body, had announced that both the New Delhi women’s Worlds and the men’s World Championships in Tashkent later in May will be the qualifying events for Paris.
“India will be a part of all the leading championships of the world (boxing), whether it’s the IBA championships or a qualifier. Of course, we had some hope that this would be deemed to be a qualifying championship. Unfortunately, the IOC and IBA could not agree. Nevertheless, we are proud to host it (the event in India). We will talk to the IOC and see if they have any particular championship which they want to host for qualification. India will certainly throw its hat into the ring as a host. We are a leading boxing nation in the world. We will be a part of all the important championships, no matter which (boxing) body is hosting it,” Boxing Federation of India (BFI) president, Ajay Singh, said.
Singh informed that a three-member IOC delegation will be visiting India during the championships. “They will come here as observers,” said Singh, who remained tight-lipped about the possibility of BFI playing the role of a mediator between the IOC and IBA. “We have invited the IOC and they have very kindly accepted (our invitation). We all hope that the relationships between world federations and Olympic bodies will remain stronger.”
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