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The Times of India
The Times of India
Sport
Sabi Hussain | TNN

Rs 1.6 crore each for gold medallists at women's World boxing

India allotted championship, will be held in Delhi next year

NEW DELHI: In a significant development, India has been allotted the hosting rights of the multi-million dollar IBA women's world boxing championships, scheduled to be held between March-April next year here. India will host the prestigious event after a gap of five years. It was last held here in November 2018 at the Indira Gandhi stadium's KD Jadhav indoor hall. The same arena has been chosen as the competition venue for the 2023 Worlds.

It's been learnt that the women's championships will offer the same record-breaking prize money to medallists as one announced for men's world boxing which will be held in the Uzbek capital of Tashkent from May 1 to 14. On Monday, the International Boxing Association's (IBA) president, Russian Umar Kremlev, had announced that for the first time the Worlds will have a prize fund of $5.2 million (Rs 42 crore approx), with the first-place medallist taking home a whopping $200,000 (Rs 1.6 crore). "The second place will get $100000 (Rs 81 lakh) and for each bronze medallist $50,000 (Rs 40 lakh)," Kremlev informed.

The prize money has been doubled from the championship held in Istanbul this year. The recent hike in prize money is a huge boost for the elite boxers. This kind of money was unheard of some years back when boxing had an 'amateur' status. Prize money was introduced in world boxing after 2007. Readers would recall that MC Mary Kom won nothing when she took her first World title in Antalya, Turkey in 2002.

According to sources, Kremlev has already arrived in India with a world body's delegation to sign the 'Host City Agreement' with the Boxing Federation of India (BFI). A formal announcement in this regard will be made on Wednesday in the presence of BFI president Ajay Singh and reigning flyweight (52kg) world champion Nikhat Zareen here.

Sources informed that India was offered the hosting rights by IBA, to which the BFI readily agreed. "India had placed its bid to host the women's world boxing championships two months back after completing the host nation formalities as desired by the IBA. On Wednesday, the formal signing of the agreement will take place with Kremlev visiting India for the first time since taking over as the IBA president. The dates haven't been finalised yet but BFI intends to host the tournament in end March or early April. It will be a historic moment for Indian sports that such a prestigious event is again coming to the country," the source stated.

Before the announcement, Kremlev and IBA delegates will pay a courtesy call to union sports secretary Sujata Chaturvedi at her office in the Shastri Bhawan.

At the 2018 edition of the meet, India had finished in third place behind China and Chinese Taipei, winning four medals, including a historic gold by legendary MC Mary Kom in the light flyweight category. By virtue of her win, Mary Kom had become the first woman boxer to secure six gold medals in the world championship.

India had previously bid for the 2021 men's Worlds but lost the hosting rights to Serbia in April 2020 after the BFI failed to pay the agreement fee of about $4 million to the world body, which was then known as the AIBA. The AIBA later terminated the agreement signed in 2017. Tashkent will now host the much-delayed men's event, partly owing to Serbia's withdrawal as the host nation and due to the Covid-19 pandemic.

Event: IBA Women's World Boxing Championships

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