Rio 2016: Pro-boxers allowed to compete but is it too little too late for Indian pugilists?

On a day when the lawyers of Sushil Kumar and Narsingh Yadav were throwing verbal punches in the Delhi High Court, the international boxing federation (Aiba) threw the real punch. In Lausanne, Aiba’s Congress gave the green signal to pro-boxers to participate in the Olympic Games, beginning in Rio on 5 August.

Aiba’s decision would mean that any professional boxer can enter the qualifying event in Venezuela next month and attempt to earn selection for Rio, with 26 places up for grabs.

Aiba’s announcement immediately gave rise to speculation whether India’s London Olympic medallist-turned-pro Vijender Singh would return to the Olympic ring. According to news agency reports, Vijender welcomed the idea of  pro-boxing at the Olympics. But when it came to his own participation, he was more cagey. “Right now, I am concentrating on my title fight to be held in New Delhi on 16 July.”

Fighting the New Delhi bout would mean it is all but impossible for Vijender to go to Rio, as the qualification event will be held in Vargas, Venezuela, from 3 July. It will be cutting it to fine for the Bhiwani boxer, currently training in the UK and preparing for the New Delhi fight, to prepare in time for Venezuela as well.

Furthermore, going from the pro-boxing mould back to amateur will not be easy for Vijender. It remains to be seen how quickly and easily a boxer used to fighting 12-round pro-boxing contests can adjust to a three-round Olympic bout. And though Vijender has just turned pro after having fought amateur contests for a large part of his career, it might be difficult to adjust to the shorter format in such a short span of time for him.

Three-round bouts are faster in comparison to pro-boxing fights and it is not necessary that a pro will always beat an amateur in the Olympic Games. In case of a defeat in the Olympic Games, Vijender’s status as a pro would also take a severe beating and result in huge financial loss for him.

Given these complications, it is a likely possibility that the promoters of his pro-boxing bouts may not even allow him to go for Olympic qualifiers at this stage. According to AIBA, “At this stage, it is difficult to say how many professionals will compete in Rio. But there will be some. They will all have to go through the qualification system. There will be no wild cards for pro-boxers.”

This means India has just one confirmed boxer at Rio. Bantamweight Shiva Thapa has already made the cut for the Games, his second outing in the quadrennial event. In London, he was knocked out in the first round. Besides Thapa, six other Indian boxers featured in London, with Mary Kom picking up a bronze medal.

This time around, even Mary Kom has not made the grade. But the ad-hoc committee looking after the sport in India has approached Aiba for a wild card entry for Mary Kom. It is possible, but not an easy task. The tripartite understanding among IOC, Aiba and the organisers of Rio 2016 Olympic Games have four berths as wild card entries. It depends whether or not Mary’s status as a brand ambassador of international boxing and a five-time world champion works in her favour.

The Aiba is likely to declare tripartite wild cards after Olympic qualifiers are held in Azerbaijan from 16 June.