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Boxing

Reduced number of boxers in 2024 Olympics, a blessing in disguise for India?

Reduced number of boxers in 2024 Olympics, a blessing in disguise for India?
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By

Md Imtiaz

Published: 10 Dec 2020 5:46 AM GMT

In what was expected to be inevitable, the International Olympic has decided to re-structuring the Olympics to make it more manageable. From 2024 Paris Olympics, weightlifting will see 76 fewer participants while boxing’s strength will be reduced by 34 athletes.

The IOC Executive Board, in its last meeting of the year on Monday, decided to cap the number of overall competitors at 10,500 for Paris. Some of the reductions are to facilitate gender equality; events for men have been replaced by women’s or mixed team events. Four new sports– skateboarding, sport climbing, surfing and breaking–got the final nod.

In boxing, the reduction in overall participants is disappointing, but the addition of one category in the women’s section is a positive sign. This will certainly have an impact on India. In the present day, more number of female boxers are rising up to showcase their grit on the world stage. From Mary Kom, Manju Rani, Sarita Devi, Lovlina, India has produced a good number of boxers consistently. “It’s not all bad for boxing. It’s good for India because we are good in women’s boxing and have won World Championships in four categories.” said Jay Kowli, the secretary general, Boxing Federation of India (BFI) to Hindustan Times.

In weightlifting, four events have been removed from the roster, their total number of quota places reduced from 196 at Tokyo to 120 at Paris. Weightlifting at Paris will see five events each for men and women.

The IOC had communicated to the international federations the necessity of reducing the cost and complexity of hosting the Olympic Games in June this year.

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