Hyderabad: Women boxers vying to be on India's squad for next year's Olympic Qualifiers will appear for selection trials on December 29-30, the sport's High Performance Director Santiago Nieva told media on Saturday, ending a bitter selection row in which the iconic M C Mary Kom was dragged.
Putting an end to the speculation, triggered by Boxing Federation of India (BFI) President Ajay Singh's statement that six-time world champion Mary Kom would be exempt from trials, Nieva said boxers in all the five Olympic categories for women will be picked after selection bouts over two days. The Olympic qualifiers are scheduled to be held in China next year in February.
"All the women boxers for the qualifiers will be decided by trials because the laid down policy was that only the finalists from the World Championships will get direct qualification for the Olympic qualifiers," Nieva said, referring to the August decision by the BFI executive committee.
None of the women boxers in the Olympic categories -- 51kg, 60kg, 64kg, 69kg, and 75kg -- could make the finals with Mary Kom (51kg) and Lovlina Borgohain (69kg) finishing with bronze medals after semifinal losses.
Singh's statement had prompted former junior world champion Nikhat Zareen to demand a trial against Mary Kom, who has maintained that she would abide by any decision taken by the federation.
Singh had stated that Mary Kom would be exempted from trials given her stupendously consistent performances, which includes two international gold medals besides a world bronze this year.