Last week, the American Boxing Association made the decision to boycott the WC. Now Sweden follows suit and does the same, as do England, Ireland and the Czech Republic, who have all decided to boycott the championships.
It is about the women’s in New Delhi, India, March 15-31 and the men’s in Tashkent, Uzbekistan, May 1-14.
Per-Axel Sjöholm, chairman of the Swedish Boxing Federation, tells TT that there are many reasons behind the decision, but the main one seems to be the International Boxing Federation’s handling of Russian and Belarusian athletes.
Strong feelings
They will be allowed to compete just as usual – something that has stirred up strong emotions.
— We do not accept Iba’s handling. There is no democracy or transparency. We have worked for several years to bring about a change, but without success. Then they made the decision themselves to allow Russia and Belarus to compete, moreover under national flags.
— Another reason is that the Olympics are much more important to us than the WC that IBA arranges. So it was an easy decision for us in Sweden.
“Dictatorship Modes”
TT: Have you presented the criticism to Iba?
— We have done that several times. The International Olympic Committee has warned them also because of a lack of democracy and transparency. The IOC is also concerned that the IBA is dependent on their sponsor, which is the Russian energy company Gazprom. These are dictatorship styles and something we cannot accept, says Per-Axel Sjöholm, chairman of the Swedish Boxing Association.
Sweden is the first Nordic country to make such a decision. Sjöholm points out that everyone in the association and among the boxers agreed that this was the right way to go.
— The most important thing for us this year is the European Games, which qualify for the 2024 Olympics.