It’s Ajay vs Jaslal in BFI polls: Incumbent chief set to contest against Olympian boxer for President’s post

Seeking a third consecutive term, Ajay Singh will have a straight fight with Olympian boxer Jaslal Pradhan for the president’s post in the Boxing Federation of India (BFI) elections, scheduled on August 21.

As per the final list of contesting candidates published on Monday, Ajay Singh, representing the Uttarakhand association, will take on 1984 Olympian Pradhan of the Sikkim unit.

Pramod Kumar, Digvijay Singh and Neeraj Jain will contest for the secretary-general’s post, while Pon Baskaran, R. Gopu and Anil Bohidar are in fray for the treasurer’s post.

Recording submissions in a BFI election-related case on Monday, the Delhi High Court did not stay the polls while posting the matter for hearing on September 23. The election results will be subject to the final outcome of the case.

After the initial notification for elections got stuck due to legal battles, the international governing body, World Boxing, formed an interim committee to run the BFI and conduct its polls.

The much-delayed BFI elections have been mired in controversy as former Union Sports Minister Anurag Thakur’s name, nominated from Himachal Pradesh and projected as a potential candidate for the top post, was rejected twice from the electoral college amid different allegations, including that the newly-adopted BFI constitution during the interim committee’s tenure was ‘undemocratic.’