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Boxing body’s anti-Ajay Singh faction meets sports ministry, IOA
Group seeking the BFI president’s ouster said it has also written to the world body on the issue
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New Delhi: The Boxing Federation of India (BFI) faction opposed to its president Ajay Singh on Wednesday claimed the sport is going through an "administrative crisis" under him and that there was a lack of long-term planning and development programmes which is affecting the boxers. Members of the group met officials of the sports ministry and Indian Olympic Association and submitted a memorandum on the issue.
A Special General Meeting called by secretary general Pramod Kumar, to bring a no-confidence motion seeking Singh’s ouster, was called off after Tuesday’s high court order halting the process. However, his faction claimed that since 27 of the 35 state units, and eight of 13 executive committee members, were present for the SGM, they used the opportunity to discuss the state of Indian boxing.
Treasurer Pon Baskaran is part of the faction opposed to Singh. Other executive body members, including Lenny D'Gamma, Rajesh Bhandari, Swapan Banerjee and Teli Khai were also present. Delhi's Rohit Jain, Assam's Hemanta Kalita and MP Boxing's Digvijay Singh, who have held senior BFI posts, are also opposing the president, who was elected for a third term in August 2025.
"We are not able to hold the SGM because of the court order, but we had discussions regarding the sport. We met the Minister of State for Youth Affairs and Sports, Raksha Khadse, and submitted a memorandum. We also had a meeting in IOA," Bhandari said.
"There are several issues regarding how boxing is being run. Ajay Singh is running it like his fiefdom, taking arbitrary decisions. Any official who tried to raise an issue regarding the sport has been suspended," the seasoned boxing administrator said.
"The National Championships are being held without any planning and on short notice. The state units are not getting a proper competition calendar which they can rely on and prepare the boxers. There is no programme to invest in our own coaches. It will impact the future of the sport if we don't act now," he said.
An official BFI statement later on Wednesday claimed that 21 state units came together in Bagdogra for a two-day Mission Olympic Podium meeting. BFI said: “The focus was on federation’s sporting programme and coordination with state units.”
It is learnt that the anti-Ajay Singh group has also written to World Boxing on the current crisis in BFI.
Other members claimed that there was no initiative for grassroot development of boxing or running a professional league, and a lack of transparency. BFI’s financial health was also bad, they said. Asked if there are so many issues in Singh’s previous tenure, why they elected him again, Bhandari said the issue of constitutional amendment before the election is being heard in the court.
A no-confidence motion is being contemplated against Singh for the second time. Asked about some of the same officials changed their position in the past, Rohit Jain said: "This time we are all together for the sake of boxing. We are fed up with the way things are being run."
