GBA boss says move critical to Olympic participation

GUYANA is looking to get affiliated to new World Boxing body to ensure country’s athletes have a chance to compete at the 2028 Olympic Games.
The International Olympic Committee, after its congress, announced last week that boxing will be part of Los Angeles 2028 games after it was initially left off the programme.
The move comes after IOC members voted to bring the highly popular boxing back on the programme after it had been removed.

Boxing was removed because its governing body, International Boxing Association (IBA), was de-recognised by the Olympic body and barred from the Olympics 2 years ago.
Last month, the newly formed World Boxing gained partial recognition which was then ratified at the IOC congress recently.
This means that only national federations affiliated to World boxing could be part of the Olympic Games.

This is a welcomed relief after IOC had organised and managed boxing activities at the Tokyo 2020 and Paris 2024 games.
Head of the Guyana Boxing Association, Steve Ninvalle, said that, in light of the prevailing circumstances, the GBA has applied to join the new body earlier this year in an attempt to give pugilists the best opportunity to be represented at the games.
“The Guyana Boxing Association has actually applied to World Boxing and this we have actually done because of the fact that we want to see the best possible way to support the development of athletes in the sport of boxing. We are still awaiting a response; as a matter of fact, we would have been asked to

send up one more document which is an anti-doping document which we have sent and we are awaiting a response…….we want to have our athletes have a path to the Olympics.”
He said they continue to be committed to IBA which they joined more than 50 years ago and will just have dual membership.

“Even while we have applied for membership of World Boxing, Guyana has not left the bosom of IBA. We have written to them asking for dual membership and we have outlined the reasons why it’s appropriate to seek membership of World Boxing at this time,” Ninvalle added.
Ninvalle also congratulated the new female head of the International Olympic Committee, Kirsty Coventry.