Ajay Singh faces revolt as 27 state boxing units back his removal from BFI
Federation officials and state associations want more transparency and shared decision-making at the Boxing Federation of India, but they are holding off on formal removal moves until a court rules.
A group of Boxing Federation of India (BFI) office-bearers and state association representatives used a Wednesday meeting in New Delhi to press for a shake-up at the top of Indian boxing. Meeting at The Suryaa Hotel in New Friends Colony, the group followed up with a press conference, where it voiced dissatisfaction with the way BFI president Ajay Singh runs the federation.
The numbers behind the push are hard to ignore. Representatives of 27 state units, including Delhi, Himachal Pradesh, Goa, Assam, Madhya Pradesh, Jammu and Kashmir, Odisha and Jharkhand, were present, along with 8 of the 13 executive committee members. All of them backed the removal of Singh. Their core complaint is that decision-making has become concentrated, leaving state bodies with little say in key matters.
Speakers went beyond policy. Rohit Jainendra Jain, vice-president of the Delhi Amateur Boxing Association, claimed that officials who disagreed with the president were targeted with accusations and pushed out of their posts. BFI general secretary Pramod Kumar described the federation as a "one-man organisation" and urged state units to take a bigger role. Digvijay Singh, speaking for the Madhya Pradesh Boxing State Association, said representatives often had to wait a long time to get a meeting with the president.
The group stopped short of escalating. BFI interim vice-president Rajesh Bhandari said no Special General Meeting would be held on October 28 and no no-confidence motion would be moved, out of respect for the judicial process. He stressed that the group remained united in its concerns and committed to improving the federation.
The dispute has already reached the government's sports leadership. A delegation submitted a memorandum to Union sports minister and Indian Olympic Association president PT Usha, setting out its concerns about how the federation is run. The group says it will decide its next move only after the court ruling scheduled for November 13, 2026.
Why it matters: the complaints centre on transparency, accountability and athlete welfare, issues that extend well beyond one federation's internal politics. The November court date will determine whether this internal rift becomes a formal leadership contest or fades into a reform negotiation. Either way, state boxing bodies have made clear that they want a real voice in how the sport is governed.
Read the original report at ANI.