(Reuters) – Switzerland and the Netherlands on Sunday joined the United States and five other teams in boycotting the women’s amateur boxing world championships in New Delhi next month because athletes from Russia and Belarus will be present.
The Dutch federation is led by Boris van der Vorst, a prominent figure in the Common Cause Alliance of nations seeking to ensure boxing has a future in the Olympics after the Paris 2024 Games.
Russian Umar Kremlev is president of the International Boxing Association (IBA) and was elected unopposed last May after Van der Vorst was declared ineligible. Russian state-controlled energy giant Gazprom is the IBA’s biggest sponsor.
The Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) ruled in June that the Dutch official had been wrongly prevented from standing but an extraordinary IBA congress in Armenia voted against holding a new election.
The Dutch federation said its board was unanimous in deciding to stay away from IBA-organised competitions that violated sanctions imposed by the International Olympic Committee (IOC).
“Dutch boxers remain focused on winning Paris 2024 Olympic quota places at the 2023 European Games in June,” it added.
“The Dutch Boxing Federation will ensure they receive all the necessary training and competitive experience at alternative events in the coming months.”
The Swiss federation also announced it would not take part in IBA events, joining the United States, Ireland, Britain, Czech Republic, Sweden and Canada in shunning the women’s worlds.
Most have also said they will skip the men’s tournament in Tashkent, Uzbekistan, in May.
The IBA has promised to provide financial assistance to anyone from boycotting nations wanting to compete in the championships.
It said last week that athletes from 77 nations had confirmed their participation at the March 15-26 women’s tournament.
The Boxing Federation of India has said it remains confident the tournament “will see the highest ever participation from member nations”.
The IBA was stripped of involvement in the 2020 Tokyo Olympics and remains at odds with Olympic organisers. Qualifying for Paris 2024 is being organised by the IOC.
Boxing is not on the initial programme for the 2028 Los Angeles Games, pending reforms demanded by the IOC following complaints about governance issues.
(Reporting by Alan Baldwin in London, editing by Clare Fallon)
