In India, AIABF runs boxing and coordinates all the tournaments at the domestic and international levels. The sport of boxing has more than one governing body for international mat: Worldorld Boxing Federation (WBF) and the International Boxing Association, initially known as Association Internationale de Boxe Amateur (AIBA). The international boxing association organizes Olympic-style boxing matches and holds its own tournaments based on player’s Olympic rankings. At a global level, India has participated in the four main events in the sport of amateur boxing, namely, the Olympics, World Cup, Asian Games, and Commonwealth Games.
Most of India’s boxing takes place domestically and internationally as amateur boxing, with only a handful of female boxers choosing to go into professional boxing. Despite their historical presence, Indfighters have had limited success on the international boxing stage.
India has never been a boxing powerhouse on the global stage, but over the past decade, India has started producing a few world-class boxers. Indian boxing has had a storied history, winning eight gold, 12 silver, and 17 bronze medals in Commonwealth Games. When ten gold, eight silver and 21 bronze medals, India is the fourth-most prosperous country in the Women’s Boxing Championships behind Russia, China and Turkey; till 2015, India has three medals in the world boxing championships.
The legendary Mary Kom–was also the first Indian boxer to medal in a global competition, winning a silver medal in its maiden edition in the light flyweight (48kg) category. Indias Mary Kom is a six-time world amateur boxing champion, the only female boxer to have won a medal at each of the six global tournaments. The 25-year-old boxer from southern Telangana beat Thai fighter Jeetpong Jeethamas in a world boxing event in Istanbul. She is the second Indian to medal in the boxing world cup, following Pu Zoramthanga (boxer) of Mizoram.
Vijender Singh won a bronze medal in Asian Games (Doha) and a bronze medal at Bejing Summer Olympics (the first Olympic medal for a boxer from India). Captain Hawa Singh is remembered best today as the founder of the Bhiwani Boxing Club (BBC), which came into the limelight in India in 2008 by producing 4 of five boxers in India’s Olympic Boxing contingent for London 2012 Games in Beijing, including the Olympic medalist Vijender Singh. Mohammed Ali Qamar was the first Indian to win gold in boxing in the Commonwealth Games at London 2012 Olympics in Manchester.
In 2005, the Government of India awarded Akhil Kumar an Arjuna award for his achievements in the field of international boxing. In 2009, the International Boxing Association (AIBA) announced Vijender Singh Beniwal as the number one ranked fighter on their annual Middleweight class list, scoring 2,800 points. Indian boxing, however, was not able to capitalize on this success since no Indian boxer was eligible to compete at any of the following four Olympics (1956, 1960, 1964, and 1968).
