Lagatar24 Desk
New Delhi, oct.26: Lovlina Borgohain, an Olympic bronze medalist, and Shiva Thapa, a five-time Asian medalist, are vying to be Asia’s representatives on the International Boxing Association’s (AIBA) athletes committee, which will be chosen by voting at the world championships for men and women. Thapa is competing in the 63.5kg division in the men’s showcase, which is presently taking place in Belgrade. The Assam boxer is a former bronze medalist in the competition.
Borgohain will compete in the women’s event in Turkey in December after being selected for the squad based on her performance at the Tokyo Olympics. She had won two bronze medals in the prestigious competition.
AIBA received 34 candidates from five confederations, with its ethics commission finding 27 of them eligible. If one of the two Indians is elected, it will be the second time the country has been represented on the panel, after veteran L Sarita Devi, a former world champion, was elected unopposed in 2019 during the interim presidency of Mohamed Moustahsane.
Three women and four men are among the Asian bloc’s contenders. Pang Chol Mih of North Korea, a previous world champion and two-time Asian medalist, and Nayzm Kyzaibay of Kazakhstan, a two-time world champion and the reigning Asian gold medalist, will compete against Borgohain.
Thapa will compete against Uzbekistan’s Bakhodir Jalolov, Pakistan’s Awais Ali Khan, and Kazakhstan’s Ablaikhan Zhussupov, a two-time world and Asian Championship medalist.
“The Athletes Committee will be composed of 10 people, with the newly-elected Chair and Vice-Chair becoming voting members of the AIBA Board of Directors,” the AIBA stated.
The registered boxers who are/will be in attendance at the world championships will elect one male and one female member from each confederation.
“A secret ballot must be used in each election. The AIBA will determine whether computerised or paper ballots will be used “The international organisation stated.
The athletes committee members will serve until the 2025 World Championships, which is a substantially longer duration than the previous panel.
Members of the Committee are supposed to endeavour to ensure that boxers’ thoughts and opinions are represented within AIBA during their term.
“One of the tasks of the new members of the Committee will be working with and supporting AIBA’s mission to develop and promote the sport of boxing everywhere,” AIBA President Umar Kremlev said.
“Considering the challenges we are overcoming at the moment, we truly need people who are ready to fight for a brighter future of our beloved sport. And who can fight better than boxers themselves?,” he said.
“At AIBA, we value everyone’s input in our reforms. In the end, all of our work is on behalf of boxers and those who support them. So it is vital for us to hear what the boxers have to say,” he added.
