Telangana: Pugilists allege biased selections, meet SATS chairman for fair trials
Hyderabad: The trials to select the State senior boxing team for the upcoming Elite National Boxing Championship, scheduled to be held in Bellary from September 15, came under scanner when a few boxers and their parents alleged that the selection trials were conducted without due process and corruption. A few boxers and their parents met […]
Hyderabad: The trials to select the State senior boxing team for the upcoming Elite National Boxing Championship, scheduled to be held in Bellary from September 15, came under scanner when a few boxers and their parents alleged that the selection trials were conducted without due process and corruption.
A few boxers and their parents met Sports Authority of Telangana State (SATS) Chairman A Venkateshwar Reddy on Wednesday requesting him to look into the matter. “Secretary of the Telangana Boxing Federation P Ravinder collected entry fee from the boxers for the trials and deputed unprofessional referees, judges and jury. The process is not fair and talented boxers have been ignored. He is also continuing as secretary for many years without conducting elections. We request the SATS Chairman to look into the matter and conduct selection trials till a formal body is formed after elections,” said one of the parents.
However, Ravinder, responding to the allegations, said the trials were conducted in a fair manner and the team would be finalised in a couple of days. “Our body got the affiliation from the Boxing Federation of India in 2019 and since then we are sending State teams for all national events. We have sent teams for seven nationals so far. There were no complaints. The opposition parties want to malign our name and they want their students in the State team. That is why they are creating a nuisance. We conducted the selection in a fair manner. They didn’t say anything on the first day but provoked a few boxers on the second day to create disturbances,” he said.
Meanwhile, Venkateshwar Reddy said he will convene a meeting with all warring factions and ask them to work together to end the infighting in the association. “Boxing is a popular game in our State and players like Nikhat Zareen are representing the country. This infighting has to stop. We will have a meeting with all the factions and try to find a common ground. All of them need to come together and work for the sport. We have noted coaches like E Chiranjeevi and reputed boxers from yesteryears. We will take their advice as well on this issue,” he added.
Coaches feel that the game was suffering in the State because of this power tussle. “There are three bodies trying to run the game in the State.
“We have the Telangana Boxing Association, Telangana Boxing Federation and Telangana Boxing Council. There is still confusion about which is the official body. TBC has been running the show since 2019. Now, a few people are alleging unfair selections while the officials say they conducted them in a fair manner. They also said he collected entry fee from boxers for trials, which is not fair. The game should not suffer. Things need to be sorted quickly,” said a coach.
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