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Boxers Join World Cup Contingent Amid BFI Selection Policy Dispute
Akash Sangwan and Jyoti Gulia officially joined the contingent for the World Boxing Cup 2026 in Guiyang, China, from June 15-20 in the men’s 75kg and women’s 48kg categories raising the number of participating Indian boxers to 20. The Sports Authority of India (SAI) had earlier refused administrative sanction for both players, amidst ongoing discord with the Boxing Federation of India (BFI).
SAI had objected to the alteration of the selection process by BFI without approval post assessment trials at the National Institute of Sports (NIS), Patiala. Both players had initially competed in another category and lost and were subsequently allowed to switch to the non-Olympic 75kg and 48kg divisions for the China World Cup.
Later SAI questioned BFI’s decision and sought a review of the matter with the submission of corrected/revised Selection Committee Minutes in accordance with the published selection policy. While granting the administrative sanction, SAI rejected government expense for the two players and omitted their names.
News reports suggest SAI indicated that BFI should field the two boxers at its own expense. In response, BFI contended that according to its rules, a change of weight category was not prohibited and a notification on May 13 allowed the boxers to move to the vacant 75kg and 48kg divisions.
Prior to this, in May, the Ministry of Youth Affairs and Sports had issued a show cause notice to the BFI, raising concerns over the transparency of its selection process for Indian boxing teams in the upcoming international competitions, including the CWG in Glasgow and the Asian Games in Japan’s Aichi-Nagoya. The Ministry questioned BFI’s decision of treating the 2nd Chief of Army Staff (COAS) Cup as the selection criteria for two major international events, stating that the COAS cup was a closed-door competition and did not provide equal opportunity for all athletes.
Thus, after discussions, the federation revised the assessment process resulting in all sparring bouts being judged by a five-member panel comprising one head coach and four judges. A 10-point must-scoring system, rotational deployment of 12 referees and judges, along with a one percent weight allowance for all bouts, were among the key changes introduced.
