Indian women pugilists are set to compete in their first international event since the Paris Olympics, with reigning national champions slated to participate in next month’s World Boxing Cup, while the silver medallists will be in action at the Thailand Open starting on May 24.
The same selection policy applies to the male boxers.
Indian boxers had been forced to miss several key events, including the Asian Championships last year and the Strandja Memorial Tournament, in the ongoing Olympic cycle by the Boxing Federation of India (BFI) as the governing body kept on delaying national camps, and repeatedly postponed the women’s national championship.
While the male pugilists returned to international competition at the World Boxing Cup in April, the delay in conducting the women’s nationals, which were finally held at the end of March, meant female boxers missed out on the exposure.
“The silver medallist of the 8th Elite Men and Women National Boxing Championship will be selected for the Thailand Open International Boxing Tournament 2025,” a BFI statement read.
For the World Boxing Cup, “The gold medallist (Rank 1) from the 8th Elite National Championship will be the primary selection. The silver medallist (Rank 2) will be designated as a reserve.”
The Thailand Open will be held in Bangkok, while the second World Boxing Cup is scheduled to take place in Astana, Kazakhstan, starting June 30.
“The boxers competing at the World Cup will undergo training camps ahead of the tournament. By selecting two different sets of boxers for the two competitions, we are trying to provide international exposure to all our pugilists,” an official in the know of things told PTI.
With the BFI elections suspended indefinitely, Indian boxing is currently being overseen by an Interim Committee formed by World Boxing to manage the federation’s affairs.
The six-member committee includes BFI Vice President Narender Kumar Nirwan, Executive Director Arun Malik, Olympian L Sarita Devi and Singapore Boxing Association’s president Fairuz Mohamed.