Boxing's ad hoc body starts 'operation salvage'

NEW DELHI: The confusion over the administration of boxing in the country has started to take a toll on the game. The ad hoc committee, appointed by the world body (AIBA) to administer the sport in India, has called for a 'National Talent Hunt' at the eleventh hour to pick boxers for the junior World Championship to be held in Russia in September.
The selection process, which should have started months ago, will now be conducted in just a week's time.The state associations have been asked to send the boxers for the selection trials on July 20-21 to four centres Rohtak, Bangalore, Guwahati and Mumbai. The trials will be held in collaboration with the Sports Authority of India (SAI).
Then again, the training of boxers, which is usually a long-drawn process, will be for just six weeks. The irony is that most of these selected boxers are unlikely to have any international experience and would enter the ring against the best in the world.
This scenario underlines the painful state of affairs in a sport that has given two medals to India in the Olympics; it's a mess created over years by officials who have been worried more about clinging to their seats than working for the future of talented boxers.
The ad-hoc committee officials, appointed just a month ago, said they were simply trying to salvage the situation. By going through a hurried process of selection, they want to ensure India's representation at the world meet which would give young boxers quality exposure.
"The committee was formed only last month and we did have not much time to pick the team for the junior world championship," chairman of the ad-hoc committee Kishen Narsi told TOI on Friday. "We don't really know what talent is available. We are also not expecting to find world champions. We are just hoping to spot some good talent. If they are of international quality, they will be picked to gain valuable experience."
Narsi added that the talent hunt would be attended by best boxers from different states, but the fact is that many states do not hold statelevel championships regularly. Furthermore, due to the short-term notice, many may not be able to attend the trials at all.
"This is absurd. It's laughable when you say you are hunting for talent to field boxers for an event like junior World Championship," Himachal Pradesh Boxing Federation chief Rajesh Bhandari said. "Several good boxers will miss the trials and most likely the boxers from SAI would compete for berths in World Championship," added Bhandari, who is also the secretary general of the now-dissolved Indian Amateur Boxing Federation (IABF).
The ad-hoc panel, which was appointed by the International Boxing Federation (AIBA) last month and where SAI's secretary general is a member, has called boxers for trials in 13 categories.