Veteran Indian boxer L Sarita Devi has been elected unopposed to the International Boxing Association’s first-ever athletes commission to represent the Asian bloc.
Sarita was in the running for the position as the sole candidate from the region. The commission features one male and a female boxer from each of the five regional confederations (Asia, Oceania, Europe, Americas, and Europe).
“It is my great pleasure to inform you that you were incontestably elected as AIBA Athlete Commission member,” AIBA interim President Mohamed Moustahsane said in a letter to Sarita.
“I am confident that with your knowledge and experience, you will be an important contributor to the activities of this commission,” he added.
The 37-year-old is an eight-time Asian Championships medallist with five of them gold, and is currently an athlete representative in the executive committee of the Boxing Federation of India, who nominated her for the position in the world body as well.
The athletes’ commission is part of the reforms that the International Olympic Committee has recommended for AIBA, which has been stripped of the right to conduct the sport in the 2020 Olympic Games due to alleged financial and administrative mismanagement.
The AIBA athletes commission members would be mandated to be a bridge between the world body and the boxers for greater transparency and coordination in the formulation of rules and projects for the sport.
The commission members will also be expected to liaison with the IOC to ensure that boxers are represented in its athletes’ commission.
