Boxing Federation of India disarray: Ajay Singh’s rival faction meets IOA CEO Raksha Khadse; states support of 27 units

Boxing Federation of India (BFI) members discussed their course of action against current president Ajay Singh at a meeting in New Delhi. (photo by special arrangement) NEW DELHI: Amid ongoing political tussle, affiliates and members of the Executive Committee (ExCo) of the Indian Boxing Federation sat in one room in New Delhi on Wednesday to show their unity and strength against the current president Ajay Singh. Claiming the support of 27 out of 35 units and 8 out of 13 ExCo members, the faction met Youth Affairs and Sports Minister Raksha Khadse and Indian Olympic Association (IOA) CEO Raghuram Iyer to register their concerns through a memorandum.It was originally supposed to be a Special General Meeting (SGM) and a vote of no confidence in Singh. Those plans were shelved by the Punjab and Haryana High Court, which gave the SGM a stay till November 13.However, this did not deter the hierarchy from coming together to express their displeasure with the three-time BFI president and his tenure.BFI general secretary Pramod Kumar – who was suspended by Singh – treasurer Pon Baskaran, vice-president Rajesh Bhandari, Delhi Amateur Boxing Association vice-president Rohit Jain and others said they submitted a memorandum to the sports ministry, IOA and World Boxing president Gennady Golovkin.The memorandum accused Singh of concentrating power in his hands, denouncing elected office holders and undermining democratic processes in the federation.Separately, the group alleged administrative lapses, disregard for the constitution and a “Hitler-like attitude” by Singh.“We have given them (the sports ministry) our memorandum. Whatever we have issued, whether it is about the constitution or the technical conduct, whether it is about the coaching or the selection committee, and about the administration, we have told him everything. Now it is his decision. And we have also written to the global body. Unfortunately, the meeting we wanted to organize today was not possible, but let’s see what changes have changed from here.“Every time an official of the boxing federation challenged Ajay Singh’s authority, he was either suspended or served with a show-cause notice. If we don’t get relief from this situation, we may be sitting at Jantar Mantar in the coming days,” BFI senior vice-president Rajesh Bhandari said.

From left to right: BFI Vice President Rajesh Bhandari, General Secretary Pramod Kumar and Delhi Amateur Boxing Association Vice President Rohit Jain. (photo by special arrangement)

Rohit Jain, who has challenged Singh’s presidency in the past and vowed to do so again, argued that the biggest problem was constitutional overreach.“This battle started in 2024. They changed the constitution as such to suit them. They kept all the powers in the seat of the president. They suspended any government department without notice, without giving any reason. Have you ever heard that someone will be suspended without reason and an ad-hoc commission will be formed? The main reason, I must say, is that I wanted not to win that competition and I could not experience the boxing. They could not stand before them. They changed the constitution not once but twice,” he said.BFI requires the support of 21 authorized unitsOn the same day, 21 of the 35 authorized state units of the BFI participated in the two-day “Mission Olympic Podium” meet at Bagdogra. Representatives of 18 units attended in person, three joined via video conference. The units involved included the ad hoc committees of Mizoram and Jharkhand along with the player representative of the BFI Athletes Committee.“Our responsibility is to the boxers and their future. The participation of most of our authorized state units demonstrates their commitment to work together as a federation in our Olympic ambitions, with the athletes at the center of this effort. The work starts in the states – identifying talent, supporting coaches and creating a clear path for boxers to progress, gain competitive exposure and represent India,” we said, saying we need to build a system to consistently train our SFI boxing chiefs at the highest level.The latest development comes as administrative chaos at the BFI continues into its third year. The current chaos worsened after Ajay Singh suspended Pramod Kumar who challenged the President’s authority. Singh claimed that his recall would require the support of three-fourths of the members of the General Assembly. But for that, the SGM needs to be convened according to constitutional norms. Meanwhile, for the no-confidence vote against Singh to succeed, the rival faction needs the support of 23 units, or two-thirds.