The return of athletes from Russia and Belarus to a world championship will be held starting this Thursday in New Delhiheadquarters of the Women’s World Boxing Championships, a tournament marked by controversy.
Along with the entry of boxers from those two countries, which have been excluded from international competitions since the start of the war in Ukraine, the international federation (IBA), suspended by the IOC, has given this Indian event the status of a qualifying tournament for Paris 2024 without relying on the Olympic bodywhich replaced the selection system for subsequent Games.
Several countries, including the United States, Ireland (placed second in the previous edition), Great Britain and Ukraine, They boycotted the World Cups because of the presence of Russians and Belarusians. These boxers will no longer be able to participate in the 2022 World Cups, as the measures taken after the invasion of Ukraine are in effect.
The Russian delegation is this time, along with Kazakhstan, the largest, with 35 boxers, although 12 are expected to compete, one at weight, and the rest come as reserves. The Russians won the penultimate World Cup, in 2019, with three gold medals, one silver and two bronze. Belarus registered six participants.
Despite strained relations between the IOC and the IBA, headed by Russian Umar Kremlev, the olympic committee sent a team of observers to the world championshipswho is in charge of the PrincewaterhouseCoopers audit, to verify whether, as the federation claims, it will be the “fairest and most transparent” world cups and whether progress is reflected in the reforms the IOC is demanding in arbitration and governance matters.
IBA has been suspended since 2019 due to its irregularities. Already at the Tokyo Games, the IOC is in charge of the qualification process, as it will be at Paris 2024, although the federation released its own roadmap last month, with these World Cups in New Delhi the first qualifying tournament.
Boxing is not yet included in the program of the Los Angeles 2028 Gameswaiting for the IBA to comply with the conditions of transparency and good governance requested by the IOC.
Following the policy already implemented by the Kremlin in previous editions, the championships will award huge prize money, with $100,000 for female boxers who become champions of the world, 50,000 for the runners-up and 25,000 for the bronze winner.
The Spanish team in New Delhi consists of Marta López at -48 kg, Laura Fuertes at -50 kg (bronze in 2022), María González at -52 kg, María del Carmen Madueño at -54 kg and Jénnifer Fernández at -57 kg.
Source: La Verdad
I’m Robert Maynard, and I am a passionate journalist with experience in sports writing. For the last few years, I have been writing for Today Times Live. My main focus has been on sports-related stories and features. With my strong background in journalism and extensive knowledge of the industry, I am able to provide readers with well-crafted pieces that are both informative and engaging.
