World Boxing, an international amateur boxing organization formed last year after a breakdown in relations between the International Olympic Committee (IOC) and the International Boxing Association (IBA), has announced the admission of Taiwan, along with four other nations, into its growing list of members.
In a statement released on its Web site on Friday, the Swiss- based organization said that in addition to Taiwan, admitted as Chinese Taipei, Bhutan, Ecuador, Fiji and Pakistan have also become members.
The new members all have well-rounded national and international boxing programs as well as transparency in the leadership and management of their national boxing programs, World Boxing said.
Photo: Walid Berrazeg, AFP
Moreover, they abide by the policies and practices of the World Anti-Doping Agency and are all accepted by their own national Olympic committees or state sports ministries, it added.
“I am very happy to welcome Chinese Taipei, Pakistan, Bhutan, Fiji and Ecuador to World Boxing and look forward to working closely with each of them in our efforts to ensure that boxing remains at the heart of the Olympic movement,” World Boxing president Boris van der Vorst was quoted as saying in the statement.
With the five latest additions, the amateur boxing organization now has 42 members from Africa, the Americas, Asia, Europe and Oceania, which it said represents a “significant boost” in the wake of the Paris Olympic Games.
“My colleagues and I at World Boxing had a very productive two weeks at the recent Olympic Games in Paris when we met the leaders of many national federations, and I am very confident that we will continue to receive more membership applications in the coming weeks,” Van der Vorst said.
World Boxing was established in April last year with the objective of keeping boxing in the Olympic Games, amid heavy criticism of the IBA, and doubts about the survival of the sport in the Olympics.
In the past few years, the IBA has made multiple questionable decisions, such as disqualifying two female boxers — Taiwanese Lin Yu-ting and Algerian Imane Khelif — at last year’s Women’s World Boxing Championships for failing unspecified gender-related tests, and it continued to cast doubts on their gender during the Paris Olympics.
Paris Olympics gold medalist Lin, who won gold at the World Boxing Championships in 2018 and 2022, was stripped of her bronze medal in the under-57kg class at last year’s tournament.
On Tuesday last week, the Executive Yuan in Taipei ordered sports officials to reinstate her honors and prize money for that bronze medal in light of the IOC discrediting the IBA.
With the IBA’s future in question, World Boxing held its first formal meeting with the IOC in early May to establish a means for boxing to remain in the Olympics.
“It is clear there is a huge appetite for change in international boxing and that many national federations now recognize the only way we can ensure that boxing has a future within the Olympic Movement is by joining World Boxing,” Van der Vorst said.
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
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,
Noelvi Marte on Sunday had seven RBIs and hit his first career grand slam with a drive off infielder Jorge Mateo, while Austin Wynn had a career-high six RBIs as the Cincinnati Reds scored their most runs in 26 years in a 24-2 rout of the Baltimore Orioles. Marte finished with five hits, including his eighth-inning homer off Mateo. Wynn hit a three-run homer in the ninth off catcher Gary Sanchez. Cincinnati scored its most runs since a 24-12 win against the Colorado Rockies on May 19, 1999, and finished with 25 hits. Baltimore allowed its most runs since a 30-3 loss to
RSS