AIBA says India's boxing coaches can't be ring-side at CWG

A day after threatening to slap Boxing India (BI) with a "complete ban" if it fails to hold elections by August 15, the International Amateur Boxing Association (AIBA) has now left all the Indian boxers — set to participate in the Commonwealth Games (CWG) in Glasgow — on their own by banning Indian coaches from being present ring-side.

In its latest diktat, AIBA has now ruled that Indian boxers will be accompanied by world boxing officials and not by the four coaches touring with the team.

The men's contingent came to know of this decision upon its arrival in Glasgow on Tuesday. A communication to this effect from the CWG organisers was received by the Indian Olympic Association (IOA) on Tuesday evening. The three-member women's team will leave for Glasgow on July 20 as their bouts commence on July 25.

"Whom will our boxers go to during the bouts?" asked Rakesh Gupta, an ad-hoc committee member of BI set up by IOA and AIBA, adding, "I feel there is some kind of misunderstanding regarding this latest letter from AIBA. As I understand, BI officials were not allowed to go near the bout arena. I don't think this applies to the coaches. Our president (N Ramachandran) will request AIBA to withdraw this order."

This simply means that Indian chief coach GS Sandhu and Cuban coach Blas Iglesias Fernandez, who are accompanying the contingent along with two more coaches, will be sitting in the spectators' gallery in Glasgow.

It must be mentioned here that according to the AIBA's competition rules, two coaches are allowed to sit ring-side during the course of any bout. The primary role of coaches is to give pep talk and physical comfort to the boxers in between rounds.