IABF fumes over Rs 50 lakh due by ministry, says may skip Chicago

New Delhi, Sept 1 (UNI) India's participation in the Chicago World Men's Boxing Championships next month could be shelved if the Sports Ministry does not clear Rs 50 lakh owed to the Indian Amateur Boxing Federation (IABF), Federation General Secretary Col PK Muralidharan Raja said today.

''Sports Ministry has not cleared Rs 50 lakh due to us. We do not have the money (for the Chicago event). If something does not happen, then I do not know how the team will go to Chicago,'' Col.

Muralidharan said.

IABF yesterday announced a nine-member team for the World Championship to be held in Chicago from October 23 to November 3 which will also serve as the first qualifying event for the 2008 Beijing Olympic Games.

''The Sports Ministry would not sanction money for taking part in international tournaments. They would ask us to bear the cost and say they will reimburse later. We had to borrow the money from the market and banks on interest, but the government will not reimburse.

''Now, the Sports Ministry owes us to the tune of Rs 50 lakhs and the banks have now refused to loan money to us since we had not repayed the borrowed money,'' the IABF official said at the metting of national sports federations to discuss the Draft National Sports Policy 2007 here.

Col Muralidharan lamented the calous attitude of the Sports Ministry in granting officdial sanction for international tournaments.

He said the World Cadet Championship team almost missed the tournament (in Baku, Azerbaijan, from August 31 to September 8) as the Ministry gave only ''verbal'' clearance at the last minute on August 30.

''It was on Thursday. The flight was to take off at 2300 hrs and we did not get government sanction till evening. Somebody called me up in the evening saying the team can go and the formal sanction will be given later.

''In June also, the Ministry gave only administrative sanction for the Asian Championship in Mongolia. The result was that the Federation had to bear the cost but we are not being able to sumbmit the bills for reimbursement since we are still to get the (full) sanction.'' Col Muralidharan has high hopes of Indian pugilists doing well in Chicago and qualifying for next year's Olympics.

''88 puglists will qaulify for the Beijing Games from Chicago.

So, any quarter-finalists will get the berth. I am hoping all of the nine qualify for the Olympics, but Vijender is the best bet,'' he later told UNI.

Vijender is competing in the 75kg category. He won gold the 54th Senior National Boxing Championship which concluded here on Thursday.

The other eight Puglisht selected for Chicago also won gold in their respective bouts. The gold winners in the 91kg and +91+kg categories were, however, omitted from the team due to ''low standard''.

''The Chicago event is the first qualifying event for Beijing and next qualifiers are at Bangkok in January and the third in Kazakhstan in March.

UNI