A year on since Women’s National Boxing Championship, winners yet to receive prize money

The BFI had introduced cash incentives for the medal winners during the 2018 edition of the national championship.

The medallists of the 2nd Elite Women’s National Boxing Championship held in Rohtak in January last year certainly would have felt a sense of pride holding their dummy prize money cheques, but it’s been one year and three months and the Boxing Federation of India (BFI) — the governing body of the sport in the country — is yet to give them the real ones.

File image of India pugilist Sarita Devi. (AP)

The BFI had introduced cash incentives for the medal winners during the 2018 edition of the national championship. The gold medal winner was promised a cash award of ₹20,000, while silver would get ₹12,000 and both the bronze medallists would get ₹7,000 each.

The total promised amount across the 10 weight divisions— 40 medallists—was ₹4.6 lakh.

None of the medal winners have got that money, including Asian Games and World Championship medallist Sarita Devi and World Championship medallist Kavita Chahal.

“Many of my trainees had won medals in the elite championship last year,” said Dronacharya awardee Jagdish Singh, who is currently coach at National Boxing Academy, Rohtak. “I have written to the federation many times, but have got no reply.”

The BFI did not offer a cash prize for the nationals held in January this year.