Committed towards making India number one nation in boxing, winning more Olympic medals: BFI Prez Ajay Singh

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New Delhi, March 14: India is all set to host the 2023 IBA Women's World Boxing Championships, starting March 15 in New Delhi, and the Boxing Federation of India (BFI) is leaving no stone unturned to make the quadrennial event a grand success.

After successfully hosting the Women's World Championships in 2006 and 2018, India becomes the first country in the world to host the mega event for the third time.

What makes this competition even more special is the fact that 330-plus boxers from 74 countries, the biggest-ever contingent in a Women's World Championship, will compete in the event, and BFI President Ajay Singh couldn't be happier.

Best names in World Boxing assemble in New Delhi

The BFI has laid out the red carpet for the best female boxers in the world and as has been the case in the past few competitions, the president expects a windfall of medals from Indian pugilists. The big prize pool of Rs 20 crore for medal winners is set to give an extra boost to the participants to put their best foot forward in the ring.

While interacting with MyKhel, Ajay Singh spoke on expectation from Indian boxers - who are now ranked third in the world, the growth of boxing in the country, the impact of such big prize money on the lives of players. He even cited the case study of former India cricketer MS Dhoni's when asked about BFI's plans to make boxing a pan-India sport.

Here are the excerpts:

Question: India is hosting the Women's Boxing Championships for a record third time, what according to you are the highlights of this marquee event?

Answer: As India is hosting the Women's World Championships for the third time, it in itself is a significant development. We are the first country in the world to host the Women's World Championship for the third time. It is reflective of the power India holds in the world of boxing.

Our (world) ranking has improved tremendously over the last few years. We ranked in the 40s a few years back, and now we are number three in the latest rankings. Our female boxers have been doing exceptionally well for us.

We are just proud that we are hosting a world championship, where the largest number of countries and boxers are going to participate. 330-plus boxers from 74 countries are participating in this world championship and these are the largest numbers. All the leading boxers in the world are here to compete.

Q: What according to you has been the reason for India's rise in boxing and the sport's emergence as a consistent medal-fetching discipline for the country in Asian Games and Olympics?

Ans: It's the hard work of the boxers and the tremendous spirit they have to excel and show the world they are capable of winning against the best in the world. And from our side as a federation, from the SAI and the Government of India, we all try to work together as one Team India.

We are ensuring whatever best support we can provide to our boxers in terms of training facilities, equipment, nutrition, and sports science. We are there to provide them with anything they need and we will leave no stone unturned to make sure our young boxers show their potential.

Q: Do you believe the approach of Indian boxers needs to change so that they start finishing on the podium more often?

Ans: Look, from our perspective we are an impatient and young country. From 44th, we have come to third in the world. But it's not enough, we are hungry for more. We want to be the top-ranked country in the world, we want to win many more Olympic medals.

Certainly, that's our aim and the intent is absolutely there. We just need to believe in ourselves and I think under the leadership of our dynamic Prime Minister Narendra Modi, certainly the Indians' belief has grown that they can be the best in the world.

Q: Sports Ministry got its largest budget allocation this year, what share of it will Boxing get?

Ans: I think boxing always gets a disproportionate share because we've done well as a sport. So we are happy with the budget that's been provided and of course, the federation itself raises resources. So I think, we are all working together and I think there's no paucity of resources.

Q: What was the reason behind announcement of such big prize money for the podium finishers and how will it change the lives of the boxers, as well as the sport?

Ans: See, ultimately the boxers are fighting for the glory of the Indian national flag and the national anthem being played in the arena. It always helps to have prize money. It does change the life of a lot of boxers.

And as a BFI president, I have personally seen, that whenever we have provided prize money, it encourages people to take up the sport seriously.

It also helps the parents to think that their kids can actually get into sport and make a living out of it and change the lives of not just their families, but their village, their state and their country. So, it's a life-changing move.

This is a significant amount of prize money. We are giving Rs 20 crore as prize money, with Rs 10 crore to gold medallists alone. The gold medallists will be rewarded with a cash prize of USD 100,000. The silver medallists will receive USD 50000 and prize money of USD 25000 for the bronze medallists.

Q: What are your plans to expand the sport's foothold in other parts of the country so that it becomes a truly pan-India sport?

Ans: Of course, we are doing our very best to strengthen the pockets where boxing exists. But the success of our boxers is encouraging youngsters from other states to come forward.

If you look at the composition of our current boxing team, you see a boxer from Madhya Pradesh. So states who had little or no representation in boxing earlier, are coming up. India's success, much as you saw in cricket is happening to boxing as well.

When you see the team succeeding and you'll find more people from states, which are not the traditional centres, suddenly coming up.

A Mahendra Singh Dhoni coming in from Jharkhand changed the face of Indian cricket as we started seeing young boys from lesser-known pockets of the country. We are also witnessing something similar with boxing.