Vietnamese Boxing has a slim chance of participating in the 2024 Olympics

The four-year power struggle between the International Olympic Committee (IOC) and the International Boxing Association (IBA) has had many unfortunate consequences. On June 22, just 13 months before the 2024 Olympics in Paris, France, the IOC officially announced the removal of the IBA from the system of international sports federations under this organization.

This is the first time in the 129-year history of the IOC that it has been forced to make such a drastic decision in the context of regularly recruiting new members. IOC member organizations voted with 69 votes in favor, 10 abstentions and only 1 vote against the decision to remove the IBA.

Since 2019, the IOC has announced the disqualification of AIBA (the predecessor of the IBA) from organizing the boxing event at the Tokyo 2020 Olympics and of the IBA itself from 2021. A "special committee" was appointed by the IOC to run the competition in Tokyo, but many incidents still occurred, including the "fake" situation of French boxer Mourad Aliev refusing to leave the ring to protest his defeat in the super heavyweight quarter-final match against Frazer Clarke (UK).

The IOC has repeatedly warned AIBA (later IBA) to change and clean up its management, organization, and operation of tournaments as well as handle problems related to financial scandals in order to fully meet the standard criteria in the Olympic spirit.

Nguyen Thi Tam (red) won the world runner-up in the 50 kg class (Photo: DANG PHUC)

At the 2023 Women's World Boxing Championships in India in March and the Men's World Boxing Championships in Uzbekistan in May, the IBA invited an IOC delegation to inspect and evaluate the organization and operation of the tournament. However, the two sides ultimately failed to find common ground in resolving the existing problems.

This means that the IOC does not recognize the achievements of the boxers in the above two tournaments in accumulating points, calculating the standard to pass the qualifying round to attend the 2024 Paris Olympics. It was at the tournament in India that boxer Nguyen Thi Tam of Vietnam reached the final and won a historic silver medal in the 50 kg category. However, this achievement was not counted for the Olympic qualifying round, leading to a great disadvantage for Nguyen Thi Tam herself and Vietnamese boxing.

"Turning its back" on the IBA does not mean that the IOC completely closes the door to boxing at the Olympic arena. According to calculations, the IOC will award tickets to the 2024 Olympics through regional and continental tournaments around the world. In Asia, the tournament chosen to count achievements is the 19th ASIAD in Hangzhou, China at the end of September, specifically, boxers who reach the semi-finals of each weight class at the ASIAD will almost certainly get tickets to the 2024 Olympics. In addition, boxers still have the opportunity to go to Paris when participating in 2 world qualifying tournaments organized by the IOC in early 2024.

Along with Nguyen Thi Tam, Nguyen Van Duong is also considered to have the ability to qualify for the Olympics for the second consecutive time after participating in the Tokyo Olympics. There is some concern for Nguyen Thi Tam as the 29-year-old female boxer is actively treating her injury after tearing her knee ligament at the 32nd SEA Games. She must rest and receive treatment for 2-3 months and if she recovers and regains her form, Tam will compete at the Hangzhou ASIAD in her favorite weight class of 50 kg.

Source: https://nld.com.vn/the-thao/boxing-viet-nam-mong-manh-co-hoi-du-olympic-2024-20230624191622934.htm