Irish boxers better off missing out on 2020 Games
OF the 31 medals Ireland have won at the Olympic Games, 16 have come in the boxing ring.
Yet sports enthusiasts in this country should be cheered by the news that its inclusion in the 2020 Games in Tokyo is in doubt.
The International Olympic Committee has given the AIBA, amateur boxing’s international body, until the start of November to address concerns surrounding finance, anti-doping and governance.
The AIBA is due to elect a man called Gafur Rakhimov its new president around then.
He is the only candidate for the position.
And when that happens, the IOC will have to act. Rakhimov is on a sanctions list in the US Treasury Department, who consider him a criminal.
This is only the start of the problems in boxing, with issues still to be addressed surrounding the quality and integrity of referees, concerns that emerged at the Rio Olympics in 2016.
The possibility of boxing being excluded from the next Olympics is high, and that would be disastrous for ambitious contenders in this country.
It would also harm Ireland’s medal ambitions in Tokyo.
So be it: better come home with nothing than compete in a sport that cannot be trusted, one whose integrity is in ribbons.
The Olympics have deep problems of their own, but boxing’s problems have become so great that not even the IOC can ignore them.