The International Boxing Association (IBA) President Umar Kremlev is on a short trip to India and he did not mince his words when he was asked about the current status of Indian boxing. He was full of praise for how the country has developed in the boxing sector over the years and went on to call India the capital of women’s boxing on Tuesday. 

India is all all set to stage the biggest boxing event, the IBA Women’s World Boxing Championships 2023, kickstarting on Wednesday at New Delhi’s Indira Gandhi Sports Complex. This is a tournament multiple young boxers in the country have been looking forward to, especially after the recent success of Lovlina Borgohain in the Tokyo Olympics. 

Hosted by the Boxing Federation of India (BFI), this iconic tournament is taking place in India for the third time- the highest for any country in the history of the championship. The previous two editions took place in 2006 and 2018 in New Delhi as well. 

Talking about the growth of Indian women boxers, Kremlev was full of praise for the community that has grown over the years and hailed that we will be witnessing many more such historic moments in the coming years. 

“India became the capital of women’s boxing and now we are witnessing historical moments together. Generally, 250 to 260 boxers compete in such championships but this year it’s a huge championship,” Kremlev said while addressing the media during the press conference which was also attended by the BFI President Ajay Singh along with the Rio Olympics champion Estelle Mossely of France and the reigning African champion Sara Haghighat-joo from Sierra Leone.

The upcoming 13th edition of the tournament will witness participation of more than 300 boxers form 65 countries competing for the title. Not just that, this time, there has been an increpent in the prize pool as well, with a total prize money of INR 20 crore being alloted across 12 weight categories.

The opening ceremony of the tournament will take place on Wednesday and will be attended by the Honourable Union Minister for Youth Affairs and Sports Anurag Singh Thakur, IBA President Kremlev and BFI President Ajay Singh along with brand ambassador of the event MC Mary Kom, six-time world champion, and guest of Bollywood star Farhan Akhtar. If you are looking for more news about the boxing world go to Nextbet.