Our Correspondent
New Delhi, March 7,
The Delhi High Court reiterated that the Boxing Federation of India (BFI) is the sole recognized body for boxing in India by restraining the Indian Amateur Boxing Federation (IABF) from using the words ‘India’ or ‘Indian’ in its name in an interim order passed today. It was in response to a petition that the BFI had filed, seeking a permanent injunction against the IABF representing itself as a National Sports Federation for Boxing or falsely claiming itself to be recognized by the Indian Olympic Association, Ministry of Sports and Youth Affairs and International Boxing Association (AIBA).
BFI opted for the legal course after it came to light that the IABF was in the process of conducting national sub-junior men’s and women’s boxing championships for which entry fees from budding pugilists too had been collected.
Following their plea, the bench of Hon’ble Justice Pratibha Singh not only barred the IABF from using ‘India’ in their name but also directed them to inform all participants that they are not a recognized national sports federation of boxing.
The court order further consolidates BFI’s status after it earned formal recognition from the AIBA, Sports Ministry and IOA in 2017 following its establishment on 25th September 2016. The BFI has worked tirelessly since in a bid to make India a boxing powerhouse.
With Mr Ajay Singh as the President, the BFI has restructured the domestic system, resulting in a steady flow of talent which has led to an increase of medals from elite international competitions in the last couple of years and have brought marquee World Boxing events to India for the first time since 2017.