NEW DELHI, Aug 1: The long-overdue Boxing Federation of India elections (BFI) will be held on August 21 in Delhi, the Interim Committee running the sport in the country has announced.According to a circular issued on July 31 and signed by Interim Committee chief Ajay Singh, “the Annual General Meeting (AGM) of Boxing Federation of India will be held on 21.08.2025 at Delhi-NCR at 11:00 am.” The agenda for the AGM are “confirmation of minutes of the previous meeting; election of various posts for the term 2025-2029 and any other item with the permission of the chair.” The tenure of the previous BFI office-bearers ended on February 2. Elections were initially scheduled for March 28, but the process was stalled due to legal wrangling, including multiple appeals and counter-appeals.
The BFI has been plagued by internal strife and factionalism in the run-up to the elections. The Returning Officer, former Delhi High Court judge RK Gauba, also resigned from his post, alleging a smear campaign against him.
In April, World Boxing, the sport’s international governing body, constituted the Interim Committee to manage the day-to-day affairs of Indian boxing. Last month, it set a deadline of August 31 to conduct the elections.The entire electoral process will now restart, including the appointment of a new Returning Officer and the drafting of a fresh Electoral College.The member associations have been asked “to send names of their two representatives as per the provisions of BFI’s Constitution as approved by World Boxing to BFI’s office email before 5 pm on 04.08.2025.” Singh, who has completed two four-year terms as President, is set to contest for the third and last term as per the 2011 National Sports Development Code of India.Former Sports Minister Anurag Thakur’s had been nominated by Himachal Pradesh Boxing as its representative in March but his name didn’t figure in the Electoral College finalised.Interestingly, the revised BFI Constitution, which was approved by World Boxing, clearly defines a representative as “a person nominated by each Member to represent it at the General Council. Such person shall be an elected member of State/UT Association in Election AGM in presence of BFI Observer and shall not be a Government servant or holding a public office.” It needs to be seen if HP Boxing nominate Thakur’s name again. (PTI)
