Navy Officer Raises Red Flags Over Army Boxer's Selection for Asian Championships
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A senior Navy official has questioned the selection of an Army boxer over the Navy's pugilist in the Indian squad for the Asian Championships in Ulaanbaatar, Mongolia.
The 10-member squad includes nine boxers from the Army, while the 10th member is a boxer from Rajasthan.
Navy's Hitesh Gulia lost out to Army's Deepak in the 70-kg weight category.
The Navy official, Vice Admiral Hari Ranjan Rao, has raised concerns over the 'conflict of interest' and 'perceived lack of neutrality' in the selection process.
Gulia defeated Deepak in last year's Inter-Services Championship and in the 2026 Nationals, but was still placed below Deepak in the selection.
The Navy official has requested the Sports Secretary to intervene and consider a review of the selection process.
The Boxing Federation of India (BFI) has denied all allegations, stating that no one from the Army was part of the selection committee and that the selection process was fair.
