Women’s World Boxing Championship: India to welcome Russian and Belarusian boxers under their own flag

In the most significant development from the world of sports, India is set to become the first country in the world to welcome Russian and Belarusian players under their own flag to a sporting event.

The Women’s Boxing World Championship in New Delhi, starting from March 15, is set to not just welcome back Russian and Belarusian boxers but also allow them to compete under their own flag, and with their national anthem.

Notably, the decision to let Russians back in competition was made by the International Boxing Federation (IBA) which is led by a Russian and has a Russian-owned company as its major sponsor. However, IBF stands suspended by the International Olympic Committee (IOC).

Meanwhile, countries like USA, Great Britain, Canada, Switzerland, Netherlands have pulled out of the New Delhi event in protest of the inclusion of Russians.

“We run a sport. We are not concerned with the politics behind a sport. We want to give opportunity to sports people to be part of sports and these issues are best left to governments to deal with. We are hosting a championship the principal to which is the IBA. We will go by what they say and what government of India says,” said BFI president Ajay Singh.