Mumbai: Ending more than a one-and-a-half year-old impasse in Indian boxing officialdom, a new body headed by industrialist Sandeep Jajodia was elected here Thursday for a four-year term in the elections conducted via a secret ballot in the presence of two observers from world body AIBA.
While Jajodia, representing Chhattisgarh BA, was elected unopposed as president of Boxing India (BI) in the elections in which 33 units took part, Jay Kowli of Maharashtra was elected as Secretary-General in a three-cornered contest in which he polled the highest number of votes (32), said AIBA's India-based observer Kishen Narsi.
Also elected as treasurer was Hemanta Kumar Kalita of Assam, who defeated two other rivals by garnering 41 votes, said Narsi, who was the AIBA observer along with AIBA's legal manager Cliodhna Guy who had flown down from Lausanne, Switzerland, to oversee the elections.
Narsi announced the results after Returning Officer Justice (retd) D K Deshmukh, who had a "pressing commitment" in an arbitration matter, had to leave early.
Ten vice-presidents and a seven-member Executive Council were also declared elected.
Narsi, however, said as far as the Indian boxers' participation in the Asian Games, starting in South Korea next week-end, is concerned, things have to become clearer.
"Thirteen boxers' names have been sent to the Asian Games Organising Committee. They have been training hard in Patiala and Delhi. The present situation (about their participation) is not clear.
"A process has been followed and its results will be sent to the AIBA Executive Council (for clearance). But there's time as boxing events start only on the 23rd."
Narsi, who was part of the ad-hoc committee formed by IOA to run boxing affairs, had stepped down after being appointed by AIBA as observer for today's elections.
Narsi said "The IOA was informed that two observers, myself and Cliodhna, will be the AIBA observers at the elections. They were asked to send their observer. None came. You have to ask them the reason."
Boxing India had been floated by Jajodia and Udit Sheth of Transtadia who are the owners of the Indian boxing franchise in AIBA-promoted World Series Boxing (WSB), after the Indian Boxing Federation was first suspended in December 2012 and then suspended this year by the world body.
In early May, Boxing India received provisional recognition from AIBA to form a new federation that would govern the sport in India.
Narsi said the voting "was totally transparent and very peaceful" and it was for the first time in 32 years that the secret ballot system was followed in boxing elections for the national body, though one delegate differed and said it was last followed in 1997.
"Earlier, the president was elected and it was left to him to form his team," said Narsi, a senior and long-serving international boxing official. He said the elections cleared the way for Indian boxers to earn substantial money on two other formats promoted by AIBA - WSB and AIBA Pro Boxing (APB). "Two of our boxers -- Shiv Thapa and Sumit Sangwan --have represented USA franchise in WSB.
Two or three other franchises were interested in Indian boxers. They can improve their ranking and earn a large amount of money."
The new BI President, who is Chairman and MD of Monet Group, which is into steel, power and mining, said his priority was to set the stage for the nationals.
"I am deeply humbled by the confidence and faith that AIBA President Dr CK Wu and the Boxing India members has placed in me. I am eager to restore the action in boxing.
"Boxing India shall soon set stage for national championship to end the dry spell for our boxers since they have been out of ring for long. BI will ensure that our boxers compete under the national flag with pride and for national pride. Our focus and efforts will be towards making boxing as the most loved and viewed sport in India," he said.
Newly-elected Secretary General Kowli said, "We have been suffering for more than two years. This is a landmark day for Indian boxing. There were various problems and obstacles which have been overcome and against all odds we have conducted the elections in a transparent and peaceful manner."
"This is a historic moment for India as a new boxing federation has been formed. It is a fresh chapter for the sport and we look forward to kick-starting operations soon.
"Following our AIBA ratified five-year developmental plan, we will work towards reforming the sport from youth development, national calendar for competitions and hosting of International events," Kowli added.
The Mumbai-based boxing official edged out rivals Rohit Jain (Delhi, 27 votes) and Rakesh Thakran (Haryana, 4 votes) to bag the post of BI Secretary-General.
Kalita also had a comfortable win to become the Treasurer as he overcame the challenge from Khoibi Salaam (Manipur, 15 votes) and Dr Rupak Debroy (Tripura, 8 votes).
The elected committee: President: Sandeep Jajodia (Elected unopposed) Secretary General: Jay Kowli - 32 votes Treasurer: Hemanta Kumar Kalita - 41 votes Vice-Presidents (10): Jaipal Singh - 49 votes, Nirwan Mukerjee (46), G V Ravi Raju (46), C K Jerath (45), C B Raje (43), Kalikanta Boro (42), T Meren Paul (38), Anil Kumar Bohidar (37), Dalpat Singh Arya (34), Rohan Khuante (34). Members of the Executive Council: Jas Lal Pradhan (58), R Gopu (49), Rajeev Kumar Singh (40), Dr Nirmolak Singh (39), Anil Mishra (38), D P Bhatt (32), Amarjit Singh (29).
Jajodia promises 'acche din' for Indian boxing:
Faced with the mammoth task of reviving the sagging fortunes of Indian boxing, newly-elected Boxing India President Sandeep Jajodia said the sport had been left "orphaned" in the last couple of years and he would bring it back on track with clean administration.
Jajodia was elected unopposed as President of Boxing India, which replaced the terminated Indian Amateur Boxing Federation on Thursday, in elections conducted under the supervision of the international body AIBA. AIBA will take another couple of days to grant Boxing India provisional recognition before India's formal re-induction into the international body happens in November, ending nearly two years of suspension.
Jajodia is the Chairman and MD of Monnet Ispat Group which has been the chief sponsor of Indian boxing for the last six years.
Speaking to PTI after his election, he denied allegations of conflict of interest, presented a blueprint for the future and promised a financial windfall for boxers, who have been denied international exposure due to the federation's termination resulting in dipping medal counts.
"I took up this challenge because boxing had gone down significantly ever since the federation got suspended in December 2012. Being the chief sponsor, I was watching everything and something had to be done to bring the sport out of this abyss. The athletes were suffering and that was the saddest bit. For the time being, I can tell them that hopefully they would get to compete under the Indian flag in the Asian Games," Jajodia said.
"For the future, I promise a transparent administrative structure which would ensure better governance of the sport. I would decentralise the power. In the earlier set-up, the power was concentrated at the top. This made state units and also the boxers feel left out and orphaned. I would get hem involved in everything," he explained.
"I was approached by these very people to take up this job. Even the boxers came to me and asked me to take up the responsibility, such was the extent of disillusionment. I hope I live up to their expectations," he said.
Asked about allegations of conflict of interest given that he also heads the company which sponsors Indian boxing, Jajodia said he would do all he can to get rid of the "false perception" that he stands to gain anything inappropriately from this new responsibility.
"There is no conflict of interest in my position. I am accountable to the people who have elected me. It is not as if I would be taking decisions alone. Every decision will be collective and I would myself not be a part of proceedings when there can be any question of conflict of interest," he said.
"These elections were conducted via secret ballot under the supervision of an AIBA observer. This election itself is the beginning of a new administrative system in Indian boxing because for the first time, secret ballot was used," he added.
Jajodia said his immediate focus is to conduct the National Championships, which have not happened for the last two years.
"The women's event will be held first from October 11 or 12 in Raipur, Chattisgarh. The men's event will follow from October 26 in Dehradun. That's the immediate concern because not having the National Championships has ruined the talent pool," he said.
Also the World Series of Boxing, from which the India franchise withdrew two years ago apparently due to lack of support from the federation, is all set to be revived, Jajodia promised.
"We still have the franchise, all we need to do is to bring back the event back to India, which will happen," he assured.
Spelling out his vision for the sport, Jajodia said as President of BI, he would ensure that more money flows in to make the boxers a financially happy lot. "I will have a meeting with all the stakeholders and put in place a set-up which would be held accountable. A position means responsibility in this new set up. AIBA has a very strong competitive structure and I would ensure that our boxers get good participation whether it is the WSB or the AIBA Professional Boxing. I want state units to be more active in identifying talent so that they can be groomed for such competitions.
"Also, the sponsorship needs to go up so that boxing can be marketed well. Besides, development of coaches and referees is also something we will focus on with a plan. In addition, I have to ensure that better infrastructure is put in place. Academies like the NIS, Patiala need to come up in every district. All these are my medium and long-term goals," he explained.
On to some controversies, most notably, the opposition that Boxing India has faced from the IOA, which refused to acknowledge it as the provisional body, Jajodia said he is not anticipating any trouble given that elections have passed off smoothly.
"I would have never attached my name with something that was not acceptable because I am also a businessman. So I am not anticipating any problem now. Better days are ahead for the sport," he signed off.
