World Boxing Cup 2025: Litmus test for Indian boxing team in Brazil

World Boxing Cup 2025: While several female boxers are competing for pride at the often-postponed eighth Elite Women's National Boxing Championships in Greater Noida, the 20-member Indian men's boxing contingent is working to settle into its groove at the picturesque Foz do Iguacu, a city in the Brazilian state of Parana, bordering Argentina and Paraguay, for the season's first global competition.

The Indian men's team arrived in Brazil four days ago to compete in the season's first World Boxing Cup, scheduled to be held from March 31 to April 5 at the Rafain Palace Hotel and Convention Centre.

Due to ongoing conflicts within the Boxing Federation of India (BFI), which has seen warring factions working against each other, the women's team was ultimately denied the opportunity to compete in Brazil.

The ongoing eighth Elite Women's National Boxing Championships in Greater Noida was initially scheduled for February but was postponed.

Off-the-field issues might also affect the men's team's prospects. Their training camp was delayed and could only be conducted for ten days in Patiala, Punjab, to prepare for the global competition. "The preparation has to be good if the goal is to compete at the global level," one of the Indian boxers told Mykhel over the phone from Brazil.

Immediately upon arrival at the venue last week, the Indian boxers made efforts to gain as much as possible from pre-training sessions. "The facilities are good for practice and sparring," said one of the Indian coaches with the team.

More than 15 teams, including the USA, will compete in the six-day-long tournament at the Rafain Palace Hotel and Convention Centre. Most teams are staying at the same hotel, which also serves as the competition venue. "It will be an advantage as both accommodation and competition are under the same roof," the Indian coach added.

Boxers who finished first and second in each weight category at the national championships held in January in Bareilly, Uttar Pradesh, were selected for the Brazilian World Boxing Cup. "Some changes were made in the 85kg category as the main boxer was unfit, so the second-best in the same weight class was selected," said a boxing coach.

The World Boxing Cup is being held under the aegis of World Boxing, launched in April 2023. The international governing body for boxing recently received provisional approval from the Executive Board of the International Olympic Committee (IOC). Boxing has also been included in the 2028 Los Angeles Olympic Games program by the IOC.