Indian boxing has descended into administrative turmoil in a year where the focus should have been on preparing for two major multisport events – the Commonwealth Games in Glasgow and the Asian Games in Aichi-Nagoya. Instead, the sport now finds itself trapped in a bitter confrontation between the Sports Authority of India (SAI) and the Boxing Federation of India (BFI), leaving the country’s boxers staring at uncertainty, confusion, and emotional exhaustion.
The latest flashpoint came on Sunday, May 10, when SAI directed the BFI not to proceed with the selection trials – initially scheduled from May 11 to 15 and later curtailed to May 11-13 at the NS NIS in Patiala – for the final squad selection “till further orders”, citing concerns over transparency, fairness, and the evaluation mechanism planned by the federation.
A source close to the development squarely blamed BFI president Ajay Singh for the current mess and alleged that the federation’s functioning had deteriorated sharply over the years.
“They called the selection trial purely to favor certain people and to sideline certain boxers that they don’t like. You are not protecting meritorious boxers, but you are guarding somebody’s interest,” a source privy to the development told Sports Now.
Another major concern raised was the increasing burden on boxers, who are often asked to repeatedly prove themselves in domestic structures despite international performances.
“BFI needs to protect the top athletes from tiring out. So, if you ask a boxer to participate in trials right after an event, he will be tired,” the source said.
The criticism also widened to the overall decline in domestic boxing structures.
“The tournament calendar is missing. The tournaments are not happening on time. It has been five years, there is no sub-junior national championship held. Are we in some poor country in Africa? Who is responsible for that? If not the president of the boxing federation, then who? Somebody has to take the responsibility. If he is not responsible, then the Government of India’s sports minister is responsible. They are allowing things to go wrong,” he said.
In the previous Olympic cycle, the BFI was dormant in terms of holding camps and competitions. The result – India failed to win a medal in boxing at the 2024 Paris Olympics.
No standard selection process
Asked why the SAI intervened, the source said, “SAI is funding everything. Coaches are being funded by SAI. The long-term development plan and the annual calendar are governed by SAI. And if it is not done by the Federation as per SAI norms, why will SAI help? If you don’t want to listen, you don’t take money and run a body like BCCI. You can do whatever you want,” he said.
“The trials at the NIS were being organized in favor of certain individuals and it was not fair. Boxers revolted. Boxers are asking questions. If you are following one structure for selection trials, I don’t think anybody will worry. Boxing is not chess. Even in chess, a person gets trapped mentally. So, one person is very fresh. One person is very, very tired. It is an unequal competition. So, all this is reflecting in BFI’s working,” the source added.
Former Commonwealth Games gold medalist Manoj Kumar also called out the BFI’s clandestine selection process.
“Before every tournament there should be a trial. And the ranking should be made, everyone should be given opportunities according to the ranking. According to the ranking, everyone should be given a trial. But at the moment, there is no clarity about who is going to the trials or who is not eligible,” said the two-time Olympian.
Manoj alleged that deserving athletes had previously been overlooked despite strong performances.
“In the last trial, a young boxer had alleged that she was met with injustice. She said she topped the assessment yet was not considered. There was no fair trial,” said Manoj.
In March this year, India’s two leading boxers Neeraj Phogat and Jyoti Gulia alleged manipulation and nepotism in the selection trials for the Asian Championships in Ulaanbaatar.
The BFI mandated that the finalists at the continental event would secure direct entry to the Commonwealth Games and the Asian Games, to be held later this year.
Both Neeraj and Jyoti failed to secure selection for the Ulaanbaatar meet after not clearing a month-long evaluation conducted by the BFI. Departing from its long-standing practice of conducting open selection trials, the federation instead adopted a performance-based assessment system, with the final decision resting in the hands of BFI officials and coaches.
Manoj argued that accomplished former athletes should have a greater role in decision-making structures.
“India’s greatest men’s boxer is Vijender Singh. So, he should be involved in the selection committee,” he said.
“In the selection trials, there has to be a clean person in the committee so that the country’s future can be good,” he added.
Boxing taking a blow
Another source, who wishes not to be named, pointed out how Indian boxing has taken a blow due to Ajay Singh’s endless hunger to stay in power.
“BFI had last organized the Indian Boxing League in 2019, which never happened again. And our performance during those four years was the highest,” the source said.
“For the current mess, who else is responsible if not Ajay Singh? Everybody else is absolutely weak, with no say, nothing. There is no opposition. Wherever there is opposition, he floats another body. Suppose there is opposition in Haryana, so he floats another body, a parallel body in Haryana. Same goes with Maharashtra, same goes with wherever there is somebody trying to put things in the right order. And all this is now causing what has been seen today or yesterday,” he alleged.
Explaining why SAI may have stepped in, the source alleged that the proposed trial structure favored certain athletes while disadvantaging others.
“Power centers have been set up under him. Ajay Singh is very busy with his business. He is just interested in keeping the power in his hands. The rest is over. I don’t care who runs it. So, what happens in this is that some people get wrong power in their hands. There is no accountability. There is no answerability. So, what will happen? Someone starts acting as he pleases. He brought a foreign coach, made him sit. What he says is final. How is this possible, boss? You will have to bring everyone together in this.
Why act now?
The suspension of the trials has also reignited questions about why the Indian government has not intervened more strongly despite repeated complaints and growing unrest within the sport.
“The Government of India is not acting now. That is something very, very surprising. They must act. They must de-recognise. They must stop the BFI from doing all these wrong things,” the source said.
The allegations extend beyond governance and into the implementation of the National Sports Policy 2025. According to the source, the BFI selectively adopted provisions convenient to it while ignoring procedural and structural requirements.
“They have adopted the national sports policy, but without taking the right route map, without following the right steps. Not involving anybody. Government’s age tenure, how much should be the age, how much tenure, who will be president, how much secretary – they have taken that much. The rest is up to them. There is a process involved, right? That process is totally sidelined. This kind of operation from a very highly educated guy like Ajay Singh was not expected. What is Whose president is he? He will say, I am doing it for boxers that is not true.
