NEW DELHI, Feb 15: Boxers from Britain have joined a United States-led boycott of the World Championships, to be held in Delhi from March 15-26, over Russian athletes participation.
The world governing body has allowed boxers from Russia and Belarus to compete with their national flags and anthems, which contravened the resolutions passed by the IOC in February and December 2022 following Russian invasion of Ukraine.
On February 28, last year, the IOC Executive Board made a resolution that, to protect the integrity of global sports competitions, International Sports Federations and sports event organisers should not invite or allow the participation of Russian and Belarusian athletes and officials in international competitions.
Great Britain Boxing said the decision to pull out of next month’s event was also sparked by concerns over the future of boxing’s place on the Olympic programme. Boxing has been left from the initial program for the 2028 Olympics in Los Angeles.
“Boxers from the GB Boxing squad will not participate in the forthcoming IBA Women’s World Boxing Championships in New Delhi, 15-25 March 2023,” GB Boxing said in a statement.
“The decision reflects on-going concerns about the future of boxing’s place on the Olympic programme and the recent move by IBA to allow boxers from Russia and Belarus to compete under their national flags, which contravenes resolutions passed by the IOC in February and December 2022.
“This has put further distance between IBA and the Olympic movement in addition to the significant, longstanding issues over sporting integrity, governance, transparency and financial management which the IOC has asked IBA to address to protect boxing’s place on the Olympic programme.”
GB Boxing also said that they are reviewing whether a men’s team would participate in the Men’s World Championships in May.
However, IBA offered support to boxers whose National Federations boycotted taking part in 2023 Women’s and Men’s World Championships.
“IBA will support any athlete that wants to participate in the World Championships, to allow them to fulfil their dream of becoming a World Champion. We will protect our athletes, coaches, and the IBA Constitution,” it said in a statement.
The IOC has already suspended recognition of the IBA in 2019 over its governance, financial transparency and sustainability, and the integrity of its refereeing and judging processes.
The IOC has administered boxing at the Tokyo Olympics in 2021 directly and is managing the qualifiers for 2024 Paris Olympics as well. (IANS)
