New Delhi: The 2021 Asian Boxing Championship, originally scheduled to be held here next month, was on Wednesday moved to Dubai due to the second surge of the Covid-19 and the travel restrictions, the Boxing Federation of India (BFI) said on Wednesday.
The tournament was to be held at the Indira Gandhi Indoor Stadium from May 21 to 31 in the National Capital, which is recording over 20,000 daily cases right now.
“In the wake of international travel restrictions to India, the Boxing Federation of India (BFI), in consultation with Asian Boxing Confederation (ASBC), has decided to conduct the upcoming 2021 edition of the ASBC Asian Elite Men and Women Boxing Championships in Dubai,” the BFI said in a statement.
“The event will now be organised by BFI in association with UAE Boxing Federation,” it added.
The BFI said that it had also received a no objection certificate from the Sports Ministry to conduct the tournament and the preparations were in full swing. However, with the newly-imposed international travel restrictions from many countries due to the prevailing pandemic situation, BFI and ASBC jointly took a decision to relocate the tournament.
Notably, India is recording over 3 lakh new cases daily, which has led to several countries imposing bans on flights to and from the country.
“It’s unfortunate that we have to shift the venue out of India. We were very keen to host the championships in Delhi but we are left with no options,” said BFI President Ajay Singh.
“Boxers’ safety is the most important concern for us and hence we had to take this decision. We closely monitored the situation and after deliberation with ASBC as well as the Government of India, we decided to conduct the tournament in Dubai,” he added.
In a communication to all the member national federations, ASBC informed that the upcoming edition of the championships will now take place between May 21 and June 1. (UNI)
