Hosts are UP but party’s in Delhi

Apart from being unprecedented, this is a clear violation of the norms of the Indian Olympic Association, the parent body of the sport in India. According to its secretary-general Randhir Singh, the state body bidding for the tournament should host it at a venue within that state.

‘‘In exceptional circunstances, the venue can be shifted but I am not aware about the exact reasons why the UPABA shifted to Delhi’’, Randhir added.

UPABA secretary Santosh Mishra said they did not have adequate time to organise the meet since the association’s office-bearers were elected two weeks ago and the championship had to be held before March 31. ‘‘We had planned to hold it at Noida but thought Delhi was a better option,’’ he said.

Interestingly, it’s well-known that Uttar Pradesh has several venues — not including Noida — boasting top-class facilities to host such a national championship. There are indoor facilities at the Lucknow Sports College and in Allahabad that could have hosted the nationals.

Indeed, the decision seems to be yet another fallout of the rift between the DBA and the the Indian Amateur Boxing Federation (IABF), whose president is Abhay Singh Chautala. The DBA is known to be opposed to Chautala — who is also a vice-president of the IOA — and this decision seems to be an attempt to sideline the DBA.

The National Championship gets over on March 30 and Randhir said he would look into the matter on Friday.