Asian Games medallists to earn places at next year's World boxing championships, BFI says
Asian Games 2026 medallists will directly qualify for next year's World boxing championships, which the Boxing Federation of India (BFI) said is the first qualifying event for the 2028 Los Angeles Olympics, the federation announced on Wednesday. The BFI set out these selection principles in a circular outlining entries and reserves for the forthcoming international qualifiers.
“We have tried to make the selection policy comprehensive and fair so that no good boxer is left out,” said a BFI official. “Asian Games medallists will be selected as the main entries in their respective weight categories. The gold medallists of the 10th National championships shall serve as reserve entries in those weight categories,” said the BFI circular. The 10th National championships will be held in Guwahati (women) and Patna (men) in December.
For weight categories in which India does not win medals at the Asian Games, and for LA 2028 weight categories that are not part of the Asiad, the BFI will name the gold medallists of the 10th Nationals as the main entries. The circular specifies the LA 2028 categories not contested at the Asian Games as men’s 65kg and women’s 57kg and 70kg. Those Nationals winners will therefore fill main-entry slots for the World championships where applicable.
The BFI noted that an Asian qualifier in China next year and two World qualifying tournaments in 2028 will also distribute quota places for the Los Angeles Games. The federation identified the two World qualifying tournaments as being scheduled for Italy and Hungary in 2028. Indian boxers who lose in the ‘quota bout round’ at the World championships — the bout whose winner earns a quota place — will receive direct entry to the Asian qualifiers.
Remaining berths for the qualifiers will be allocated through a ranking selection trial among elite National campers, the BFI circular states. Boxers will enter the National camp through dedicated pathways before being considered in those ranking trials. The federation said the same selection procedure will be applied for the two World qualifying tournaments in Italy and Hungary in 2028.
The National camp will commence with medallists of the 10th National championships, Asian Games medallists and wild cards chosen by the BFI selection committee. For non-Olympic weights, the circular specifies that gold medallists of the Nationals will be the main entries for the World championships in Kazakhstan, with the silver medallists designated as reserves.
The immediate next step under the BFI’s selection plan is the 10th National championships in Guwahati (women) and Patna (men) in December, which will determine many of the main and reserve entries for next year’s World championships and the subsequent Asian and World qualifying events for LA 2028.