Ajay Singh re-elected Boxing Federation of India president for straight third term

Incumbent Ajay Singh was on Thursday re-elected president of the Boxing Federation of India (BFI) for a third straight term, securing a comprehensive 40-26 victory over former Olympian boxer Jaslal Pradhan of Sikkim in the long-delayed elections.

The polls, postponed by more than six months amid a spate of legal battles, were conducted under the supervision of Returning Officer Retd. Justice Rajesh Tandon and BFI interim committee head Fairuz Mohammed of Singapore, deputed by World Boxing as an observer.

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Confirming the result, Fairuz Mohammed said, “Today, the Boxing Federation of India has successfully concluded the elections in a fair and transparent manner. With that, the BFI elected the new team under the leadership of Ajay Singh.”

“The election was conducted in accordance with the World Boxing-approved constitution. On behalf of World Boxing, I congratulate the winners of the election and wish nothing but the best for the Boxing Federation of India,” he added.

Notably, World Boxing president Boris van der Vorst and Secretary General Mike McAtee, who were initially expected to oversee the process, did not attend. The Sports Ministry and the Indian Olympic Association (IOA) also refrained from sending observers.

Singh will now be joined by a new office-bearer team. Pramod Kumar of Uttar Pradesh replaces Assam’s Hemanta Kalita as secretary general, while Tamil Nadu’s Pon Baskaran takes charge as treasurer. Kalita, having completed two consecutive four-year terms, was ineligible to contest due to the mandated cooling-off period.

However, the election results are subject to the outcome of an ongoing case in the Delhi High Court, where several state associations have challenged the constitutional amendments introduced by the interim committee.

Originally scheduled for March 28, the BFI elections were repeatedly stalled by petitions, appeals and counter-appeals before finally being completed this week.