Perched in his wheelchair at the head of a Caribbean hotel table, Anwar Chowdhry had no doubt his 20-year reign as amateur boxing's top official would continue past the weekend.
The 84-year-old president of the International Boxing Association is facing what could be the toughest, and possibly last, election of his career.
Taiwanese challenger Wu Ching-kuo said he has locked up essential support from delegates angry over allegations of corruption and worried about the sport's future.
PHOTO: AP
But Chowdhry said he would be re-elected yesterday because Wu was unqualified for the job.
"I have to do it because there is no choice," Chowdhry said. "(Wu) doesn't know anything about boxing."
The sport's long-time Pakistani leader entered this week's quadrennial Congress dogged by allegations that he hid personal expenses and stalled reforms demanded by the International Olympic Committee. The IOC froze more than US$9 million set aside for the organization last year to force changes in judge selection.
Wu and others say they're concerned the sport could be kicked out of the Olympics, concerns that Chowdhry called "stupid."
The 60-year-old Wu was equally confident of a victory yesterday, saying he had won the support of delegations including the US and China, which despite its rivalry with Wu's native Taiwan has worked with him on plans for the 2008 Olympic Games.
An architect and former basketball player in Taiwan, Wu is an IOC member who previously served as an committee chairman. He has proposed reforms such as increased marketing, new television contracts and the installation of scoreboards to allow fans to see how judges score fights in real time.
Wu said the changes, especially the television contracts and scoreboards, are necessary to preserve the sport. And to get those in place, he said, Chowdhry must be defeated.
"Currently it's a one-man decision," Wu told AP. "If we can make these changes, I can guarantee boxing will be safe."
Boxing has been one of the main sports of the modern Olympics, which began in 1896, but the officiating has caused an uproar several times. A glaring example came at the 1988 Seoul Games when Roy Jones was denied the gold medal despite dominating Park Si-hun of South Korea in the final.
Delegates were also scheduled to consider the IOC's rule changes for judge selection.
Bologna on Thursday advanced past Empoli to reach their first Coppa Italia final in more than half a century. Thijs Dallinga’s 87th-minute header earned Bologna a 2-1 win and his side advanced 5-1 on aggregate. Giovanni Fabbian opened the scoring for Bologna with a header seven minutes in. Then Viktor Kovalenko equalized for Empoli in the 30th minute by turning in a rebound to finish off a counterattack. Bologna won the first leg 3-0. In the May 14 final in Rome, Bologna are to face AC Milan, who eliminated city rivals Inter 4-1 on aggregate following a 3-0 win on Wednesday. Bologna last reached the
If the Wild finally break through and win their first playoff series in a decade, Minnesota’s top line likely will be the reason. They were all over the Golden Knights through the first two games of their NHL Western Conference quarter-finals series, which was 1-1 going back to Minnesota for Game 3 today. The Wild tied the series with a 5-2 win on Tuesday. Matt Boldy had three goals and an assist in the first two games, while Kirill Kaprizov produced two goals and three assists. Joel Eriksson Ek, who centers the line, has yet to get on the scoresheet. “I think the biggest
The Minnesota Timberwolves, with so many promising performances spoiled by late mistakes fresh in their memory bank, sure timed this strong finish well. Jaden McDaniels scored a career playoff-high 30 points and spearheaded Minnesota’s stifling defense on an ailing Luka Doncic, and the Timberwolves beat the Los Angeles Lakers 116-104 to take a 2-1 lead in the best-of-seven Western Conference first-round series in Minneapolis, Minnesota, on Friday night. “Jaden never looks tired. He looks like he could play 48 minutes,” said teammate Anthony Edwards, who had 29 points, eight rebounds and eight assists. Julius Randle added 22 points for the Wolves, who outscored
From a commemorative jersey to a stadium in his name, Argentine soccer organizers are planning a slew of tributes to their late “Captain” Pope Francis, eulogized as the ultimate team player. Tributes to the Argentine pontiff, a lifelong lover of the game, who died on Monday at the age of 88, have been peppered with soccer metaphors in his homeland. “Francisco. What a player,” the Argentine Football Federation (AFA) said, describing the first pope from Latin America and the southern hemisphere as a generational talent who “never hogged the ball” and who showed the world “the importance of having an Argentine captain,
RSS