The Boxing India elections, scheduled to be held on September 11, has hit another bump in the road after the Indian Olympic Association (IOA) officials claimed that they should be allowed to hold the polls.
IOA president N Ramachandran wrote to the International Boxing Association (AIBA) requesting them to allow his association to hold the elections.
Ramachandran sought an immediate appointment with AIBA president Ching Kuo Wu, informing him about BI's attempt to manipulate the electoral process to get its favoured candidates elected.
"The IOA has been flooded with letters citing various irregularities in the Electoral College which is quite different from the previous roll. It would be best if the IOA conducts these elections in a free and fair manner in the presence of a government observer," Ramachandran wrote in his letter.
"This is a matter of serious concern to the IOA and the Sports ministry. In the long run, this would be the best solution for the boxing community in India."
Ever since the elections were announced for September 11, both IOA and BI officials have been firing salvo against each other.
It all started with five state boxing associations — Jammu and Kashmir, Uttar Pradesh, Uttarakhand, Gujarat and Haryana — distanced themselves from Boxing India and given letter of support to IOA.
The last date for filing nominations for the polls has been set at September 6.
In return, IOA called a meeting of all state associations on September 5 to discuss the possibility of reviving state and national boxing championships, which have not taken place since December 2012 following AIBA's suspension.
However, BI has warned all its member affiliates not to attend IOA's meeting on Friday.
"With elections fast approaching, BI is looking forward to having a new elected body that will drive the future of Indian boxing. The commissioning and holding of any events/championships such as National Games will be our priority after getting elected. It would be advisable to state associations to keep all discussions related to holding of championships in the hands of our own elected members after the elections," stated the BI letter.
If BI fails to conduct the election by the scheduled date, the Indian pugilists may miss out from the Asian Games. Sports Authority of India director general Jiji Thomson also said last week that "if the deadlock persists, sports ministry may be left with no choice but to withdraw the boxing team (for which the selection trials concluded in Patiala last week)".
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