Olympic bronze-winner Lovlina forced to withdraw from Nationals

IMAGE: Olympic bronze-medallist Lovlina Borgohain is one of the boxers who are allegedly being stopped from participating in the National Championships. Photograph: Jason Cairnduff/Reuters

Boxing Federation of India (BFI) President Ajay Singh on Wednesday alleged that boxers from the state of Assam, including Olympic bronze-winner Lovlina Borgohain, were being stopped from participating in the National Championships by suspended BFI secretary general Hemanta Kalita, who, however, refuted the charge.

In an “emergency press conference”, Singh said that the Tokyo Games medallist in the 69kg category is keen to participate in the marquee domestic event starting on Thursday in Greater Noida but has been asked to withdraw by Kalita.

Kalita, who has been found guilty of financial mismanagement in an inquiry conducted by former Delhi High Court judge Sudhir Kumar Jain, holds the secretary’s position in the Assam body.

“Assam is discouraging players from participating in the women’s nationals,” Singh said.

However, Kalita said the charges were baseless and the dispute was over the dates of the tournament.

“Since the beginning, state units were unhappy with the dates of the women’s nationals. Several states had written to BFI as well,” Kalita said.

The BFI has received entries from 22 states but it remains to be seen how many boxers turn up for the national championships, being held after close to two years.

Talking about his suspension, Kalita maintained his innocence and said he will be contesting the decision.

“If any misappropriation of funds has occurred, the president should be held guilty, as he is the one who signs all the cheques.

“Additionally, it was agreed during the executive committee meeting that the Ethics Committee would investigate the matter. Why, then, was a judge appointed for the task?” he questioned.

Singh, however, insisted that he was well within his rights to call for an investigation.

“When I was asked by the SAI (Sports Authority of India) to look into the complaint, I took the matter to the executive committee and said we need to have a proper investigation and they (secretary and treasurer) agreed. They were part of the meeting and agreed.

“The minutes of the EC meeting are available and there was no request for the inquiry to go to the Ethics Commission,” Singh said.

Kalita was among the four candidates for the president’s post in the BFI elections, scheduled for March 28, but his nomination was rejected on the grounds that he needs to undergo a cooling off period after serving two terms, in different roles, in the body.

In another development, the Delhi High Court stayed BFI’s order allowing only elected members of its affiliated states to represent their respective units in the polls. Singh said BFI will appeal against the decision.

Former sports minister Anurag Thakur had been deemed ineligible to contest for the presidential election because of the the March 7 notice. Thakur’s name  was proposed by the Himachal Pradesh body but it was rejected as he was not an elected member, according to the March 7 order.

Thakur’s faction is set to challenge the notice separately in the Delhi High Court on Thursday.