Ajay Singh re-elected as Boxing Federation president for third consecutive term

Incumbent Ajay Singh was on Thursday re-elected President of the Boxing Federation of India (BFI) for a third consecutive term after his comprehensive victory over Jaslal Pradhan in the long-overdue polls.

The elections, postponed by more than six months amid legal wrangling, were conducted in the presence of Returning Officer Rajesh Tandon and BFI interim committee head Fairuz Mohammed of Singapore, who was sent by World Boxing as its observer.

World Boxing President Boris van der Vorst and Secretary General Mike McAtee, who were originally set to be observers, did not attend the polls.

The Sports Ministry and the Indian Olympic Association (IOA) also didn't send any observers.

Singh, who is also the managing director of SpiceJet Airlines, won the contest 40-26. He will be joined by a new secretary general Pramod Kumar of Uttar Pradesh, who succeeds Assam's Hemanta Kalita.

Kalita was ineligible to contest after serving two consecutive four-year terms as an office-bearer and must now undergo the mandatory cooling-off period.

Tamil Nadu's Pon Baskaran was elected as treasurer.

The results, however, remain subject to the final outcome of an ongoing case in the Delhi High Court, where several state units have challenged the constitutional amendments introduced by the interim committee that had been overseeing BFI's daily affairs.

The elections were initially scheduled for March 28 but were repeatedly stalled due to a series of petitions, appeals and counter-appeals.