Sports Ministry questions BFI selection process, Assessment Camp suspended

The Boxing Federation of India (BFI)’s assessment camp is once again in the spotlight, as the Sports Ministry issued a show-cause notice on Monday regarding the fairness of the selection process.

The ongoing camp in Patiala remains suspended, and the BFI will now have to restructure its selection criteria for the upcoming Commonwealth Games and Asian Games.

The BFI’s national camp came under scrutiny last month after it added the 40 medal winners from the Chief of Army Staff Cup to the assessment camp.

After several athletes questioned their exclusion from the COAS Cup on the grounds that they did not belong to the Army, the Sports Authority of India (SAI) intervened and paused the camp.

According to reports, SAI said it could not sanction a camp in which boxers gained entry through a “closed” tournament, and questioned the fairness of the selection process.

The Ministry also stated that the BFI has failed to appoint a High Performance Director, despite being allocated Rs 10 crore for the role. Hiring a High Performance Director has been made mandatory for every National Sports Federation (NSF).

The assessment camp is a crucial event for Indian boxers, as it will finalise the remaining spots for the two major multi-sport events of the year.

The continued postponement of the camp is also hampering the boxers’ preparation and training schedules, with only a couple of months remaining before the Glasgow Commonwealth Games.

As per the December 2025 selection criteria, several Asian Championships finalists have already secured five quotas for the CWG and three for AG 2026.

The assessment camp will now determine the boxers for the remaining weight categories.