Great Britain To Withdraw From Women’s World Boxing Championships

Great Britain has decided to abstain from being part of the upcoming Women’s World Boxing Championships in India due to worries regarding the presence of Russian athletes attending the tournament while representing their own country.

Despite the International Olympic Committee’s advice, the International Boxing Association (IBA) has allowed Russian and Belarusian athletes to take part in competitions as representatives of their countries, even with the Russia-Ukraine war.

📰 | NEWS: Statement from GB Boxing on the forthcoming 2023 IBA Women’s World Boxing Championships

For the full statement, click here! ⬇️https://t.co/jsLyKwA0oR pic.twitter.com/TIoymDMVT9

— GB Boxing (@gbboxing) February 14, 2023

In an official statement by GB Boxing, a representative said: “Boxers from the GB Boxing squad will not participate in the forthcoming IBA Women’s World Boxing Championships in New Delhi, March 15 to 25, 2023.

“The decision reflects ongoing concerns about the future of boxing’s place on the Olympic programme and the recent move by IBA (the International Boxing Association) to allow boxers from Russia and Belarus to compete under their national flags, which contravenes resolutions passed by the IOC in February and December 2022.”

The decision is part of a wider ongoing discussion over whether Russian and Belarusian athletes should be given the authorization to participate as non-aligned individuals in the Paris games.

The International Olympic Committee (IOC) had initially advised international sports federations to prevent Russian and Belarusian athletes from taking part in their events.

Thomas Bach, the president of the IOC, has made it clear that this choice was only taken to protect the athletes from those countries, and the IOC is now searching for a way to allow them to participate in the competitions while adhering to strict standards of impartiality.

Bach insists that athletes should not be treated unequally due to their nationality. And with the GB team now questioning if their male counterparts should participate in the championships in May, the future of the sport at a grassroots level is being hampered.

And the social media response was indicative of that. 

Social Media Reaction

GB Boxing join Ireland and the US in pulling out of next month's women's World boxing championships in India. Other countries who belong to the Common Cause Alliance likely to follow suit. Full scale split in world amateur boxing now seems inevitable https://t.co/7HW6SHgzDq

— Sean McGoldrick (@SeanMcGoldrick1) February 14, 2023

Political mess. Not good for the boxers at all https://t.co/Yqwbki7t82

— Boxing Talk (@BoxingTalk_UK) February 14, 2023