The Boxing Federation of India has issued its reply to a petition filed in the Punjab and Haryana Court by a few boxers who were left out of India’s boxing squad for the Asian Games 2023. In its reply, BFI emphasized that the policy it adopted to select India’s squad for the Intercontinental tournament, is transparent and fair.
A petition was filed by Commonwealth gold medalist Amit Panghal, Rohit Mor and Commonwealth silver medalist Sagar Ahlawat, challenging the selection criteria followed by the Boxing Federation of India to choose the squad for the Asian Games. The three boxers couldn’t make it to India’s squad as the federation followed the newly adopted criteria.
BFI, in its reply to the Punjab and Haryana Court, wrote, “The selection process adopted by BFI is fair and transparent and is based upon the assessment of various parameters. Due to the various parameters laid down for the selection of the athlete, there is zero chance of biases.”
Backing its decision to implement the new criteria, BFI stated that the procedure was being followed by various leading boxing nations across the globe, and its efficiency was tested at the Women’s and Men’s World Boxing Championships, where it proved to be successful. The women boxers returned with four gold medals while the men brought three bronze medals home.
The federation also said that the athletes were “given a comprehensive briefing regarding the selection/evaluation process by the High-Performance Unit which included High-Performance Directors, Coaches, and Sports Staff,” and added that “none of the athletes raised any challenge to the selection criteria being adopted.”
Deepak Bhoria, Sachin Siwach, and Narender Berwal have been selected in the place of Amit, Rohit and Sagar respectively.
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