Asian Boxing Championship to be held in India pushed back to 2021
The Asian event was set to be held in India later this year
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The Asian Boxing Championship, which was supposed to be staged in November-December this year, has been postponed to 2021 owing to the current pandemic situation. Even though the number of Covid-19 cases has increased, the national boxing camp in Patiala has been held smoothly so far.
Sporting activities around the globe including India have taken a big blow due to the Covid-19 pandemic, with the number of cases increasing at an alarming rate in this part of the world ever since. In spite of a few hurdles, the national camp at the NIS centrE in Patiala has been running smoothly. But, as per the recent developments, the Asian Boxing Championships, which was set to be staged in India in November-December, has been pushed back by a year due to the pandemic.
“A postponement was proposed owing to the conditions prevailing because of the pandemic and it was accepted. India remains the host and the tournament will now happen in 2021. The 2021 window for it will be discussed in the next EC meeting in November,” said Boxing Federation of India (BFI)’s general secretary Jay Kowli, to PTI.
The decision was taken at the Asian Boxing Confederation (ASBC)’s Executive Committee meeting held online on Monday. The last time India hosted the Asian men’s event was back in 1980, in Mumbai before conducting the women’s competition in 2003, in Hisar, following which the tournament became a joint event. As per the ASBC, only one event can be organized in the near future.
“The ASBC decided that there is a possibility of just one event, probably in November in China, where only the top boxers can compete to keep the field small. But that is also just a proposal, it may or may not happen,” added Kowli, who is also a part of ASBC.
