The three Indian boxers, who alleged manipulation in the trials for the World Championship, were today given time until September 15 to respond to showcause notices issued to them by the Indian Boxing Federation's disciplinary committee.
The disciplinary panel, comprising of IBF vice-Presidents I D Nanavati and Mukharjee Nirwan and chairman of the Ring Officials Commission Narottam Singh Rawat, met for the first time here today.
"The allegations they have made are extremely serious and to go to the media when the team list was not even officially out is actually a crime in our opinion. They have been issued showcause notices which will be delivered to them either by the national coach (G S Sandhu) or their concerned departments. They have to prove their charges by September 15 or face very strict action," IBF president Abhishek Matoria told PTI.
The trio of Arjuna awardee Dinesh Kumar (91kg), national champion Dilbag Singh (69kg) and Praveen Kumar (+91kg) are the three boxers who have alleged bias and manipulation in the trials for the October 11 to 27 event in Almaty, Kazakhstan.
"They have to explain why they went to the media without asking the IBF," IBF secretary general Rajesh Bhandari said.
The boxers, who have alleged that the coaches and the selection committee during the August 26 to 28 trials were compromised, were not called in today's meeting.
Asian Games silver-medallist Manpreet Singh (91kg), Asian Championships silver-medallist Mandeep Jangra (69kg) and reigning national champion Satish Kumar (+91kg) were the boxers who were picked ahead of the disgruntled trio.
The complaining boxers were beaten in exciting open trials in Patiala in front of a packed hall of fellow boxers and a selection panel which included veterans like Mehtab Singh and Padam Bahadur Mal besides Bhandari.
