The Indian Boxing Federation (IBF) secretary-general PK Muralidhar Raja clarified that security was not an issue and that almost all other countries were expected to participate.
The postponement of the Commonwealth boxing championships have resulted in Australia pulling out of the March 10-18 event. Originally scheduled for December 2009, the meet had to be deferred due to a delay in construction of the Talkatora Sports Complex. The dates now clash with the Aussies’ home international fixtures against Italy and Ukraine.
The Indian Boxing Federation (IBF) secretary-general PK Muralidhar Raja clarified that security was not an issue and that almost all other countries were expected to participate in the championship. “All other major nations, except Canada, will participate. We are expecting close to 120 boxers from the 15 or 16 countries,” Raja said here on Thursday.
The countries having confirmed participation are England, Wales, Scotland, South Africa, Singapore, Pakistan, Sri Lanka, Ireland, Malaysia, Mauritius, Kenya, Samoa and Bangladesh. “The Talkatora Stadium will be ready in time and we are hopeful of a good conduct of the games. The Indian boxers are raring to go and the final contingent will be selected on the basis of performances in the Super Cup in Mumbai (January 13 to 16) and two-week trials in Patiala,” he added.
Raja was also upbeat about a city-based Indian professional league that the IBF is planning on the lines of the Indian cricket board’s Indian Premier League (IPL), but is waiting for a similar world league being put in place by the International Boxing Association (AIBA), to take off. Raja said he would meet Ratnakar Shetty, Chief Administrative Officer of the Board of Control for Cricket in India’s (BCCI), during the Super Cup and was also looking forward to discussing the prospects of such a league with Lalit Modi, the IPL chairman.
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