The Indian Olympic Association (IOA) on Tuesday conveyed the Boxing Federation of India (BFI) about an International Olympic Committee (IOC) advisory, which asked international federations (IFs) to exclude a country from hosting any international sporting event if the local government is not able to “ensure equal treatment for the participating athletes and sporting delegations, in accordance with the basic principles of autonomy and non-discrimination” of the Olympic Movement.
In a letter, IOC's head of international relations and governance Jerome Poive said, “the IOC strongly recommends that before allocating any international sports events to a country, all international sports organisations concerned make sure that all the necessary written guarantees are obtained from the local authorities/organiser..."
“Should this not be possible, or should there be any doubt, the said country would exclude itself from the right to host international sporting events, and the international sports organisation concerned should not allocate any international sports event to this country until the issue is resolved, and all the necessary guarantees are provided and implemented.”
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The letter assumes significance due to recent instances of Kosovo's exclusion from different international sporting events, including the ongoing World women's boxing championships, here.
The International Boxing Association (AIBA) and the Olympic Council of Asia (OCA) had expressed their concern over a Kosovo boxer not getting an Indian visa as the Government did not recognise the new country. The AIBA even threatened to reopen the bid of the 2012 World Championships, to be held in the country, in case India did not take appropriate steps.
IOA president Narinder Batra has requested BFI president Ajay Singh, who is also the IOA Coordination Committee chairman, to fix a meeting with the Government to sort out the issue.
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