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The state units affiliated to Boxing India on Wednesday claimed ignorance about the International Boxing Association's decision to constitute an ad-hoc committee for administrating the sport in India, even as it planned to write to AIBA about proposing a date for conducting its elections.
Boxing India's acting president Meren Paul, who on Wednesday conducted an executive council meeting, insisted that AIBA would have to officially inform BI about the formation of ad-hoc committee and can't arbitrarily impose its decision.
"We have not received any communication from AIBA so far. It has not been addressed to us. As soon as we receive it, we will review it," Paul said.
When asked further about the formation of an ad-hoc committee by AIBA, Paul gave a vague explanation. "AIBA is the apex body and we cannot ignore that. If AIBA has given that mandate, we have to go by that. But in the meantime, there is a lot of conflict. Firstly, we should be informed about this by the AIBA. Just arbitrarily imposing would not work."
AIBA constituted a five-member ad-hoc committee on Tuesday for finding a group that would organise and administer the sport in India.
Kishen Narsi, an AIBA representative, will chair the committee, which also comprises of ousted BI secretary general Jay Kowli, former tennis player Manisha Malhotra and Sports Authority of India's director general Injeti Srinivas as its members.
Asked whether the BI executive council would pass a resolution against the ad-hoc committee when it receives the letter from AIBA, Paul said: "That will depend on the decision of the executive committee meeting. Different members have different views, so I cannot speak for everyone now."
The acting president insisted that the federation would write to AIBA, proposing a date to hold elections for the posts of president and secretary general.
"Either BI or AIBA cannot remain without president for more than six months, so that is a constitutional requirement. We will be writing to AIBA and giving a date for the conduct of the elections," Paul said.
The president and secretary general's positions have been lying vacant after Sandeep Jajodia and Jay Kowli were respectively ousted during a Special General Meeting last month.
Paul insisted that the federation has decided to conduct various competitions in senior, junior and sub-junior categories from August 2015 to January 2016 as per the government rules.
"Whatever the AIBA is saying, in the meantime, we cannot remain inactive. So we have decided to conduct various championships in senior, junior, sub-junior categories over. We have not conducted competitions since 2012, so immediately we have to conduct the championships and develop our players.
"There is a vacuum. The juniors have graduated to senior level, while sub-junior have gone to junior, so there is an urgent need to hold competitions and that is our main focus now. So we are trying to do that," he pointed out.
Image: India's boxer M C Mary Kom.
Photograph: Kim Kyung-Hoon/Reuters