On February 3 of this year, the Boxing Federation of India (BFI) will hold its delayed elections. The process was due in September 2020 but postponed twice due to the Coronavirus pandemic. The delay led to the Uttar Pradesh Amateur Boxing Association seeking Delhi High Court’s intervention.

The court had asked the BFI to submit its election schedule after hearing the petition last month and finalized February 3 as the new date of holding the delayed elections.

A press release from the federation stated that “elections will be held as per the schedule on February 3, 2021. All parties have accepted the schedule provided by the BFI.”

The current President, Ajay Singh, who took charge in 2016 following elections conducted under the International Boxing Association (AIBA), has been challenged by former Mumbai Cricket Association president and BJP leader Ashish Shelar for the post. After becoming a part of the BFI Electoral College in December first week, Ashish Shelar filed his nomination papers.

Shelar is also a former sports minister of Maharashtra and a former chairman of the Mumbai District Football Association. The 48-year-old Shelar is the current MLA from the Bandra West constituency.

After the new development, Shelar said that “I welcome the Court’s instruction not to delay the elections any further under one pretext or another as we need to get our house in order in the year of the Olympics.”