The Asian Games 2026 medallists will directly book their berths in next year’s World boxing championships, which will be the first qualifying event for the 2028 Los Angeles Olympics, the Boxing Federation of India (BFI) said on Wednesday.

“We have tried to make the selection policy comprehensive and fair so that no good boxer is left out,” said a BFI official.

“Asian Games medallists will be selected as the main entries in their respective weight categories. The gold medallists of the 10th National championships shall serve as reserve entries in those weight categories,” said the BFI circular.

The 10th National championships will be held in Guwahati (women) and Patna (men) in December.

For weight categories in which India does not win medals at the Asian Games and the LA 2028 weight categories that are not part of the Asiad (men’s 65kg and women’s 57kg and 70kg), the gold medallists of the above-mentioned Nationals will be selected as main entries.

The Asian qualifier in China next year and two World qualifying tournaments in 2028 will also provide quota places for LA28.

Indian boxers losing in the ‘quota bout round’ (the winner of which earns a quota place) at the World championships will get direct entry to the Asian qualifiers. The remaining slots will be filled through a ranking selection trial among elite National campers after the boxers enter the National camp through dedicated pathways.

A similar process will be followed for the two World qualifying tournaments, to be held in Italy and Hungary, in 2028.

The National camp will start with medallists of the 10th National championships, Asian Games medallists and wild cards to be selected by the BFI selection committee.

For non-Olympic weights, gold medallists of the Nationals will be the main entries for the World championships in Kazakhstan, while the silver medallists will be the reserves.

The Indian boxers have been attending a multi-nation camp at NIS Patiala in the run-up to the Asian Games.

Apart from the Indians, the camp features 10 pugilists from the Dominican Republic — seven men and three women — and three from Iran. The Dominican team includes two Paris Olympics bronze medallists — Cristian Pinales (80kg) and Junior Alcantara (51kg) — who are sparring in 90kg and 55kg respectively.

“The Dominican boxers have been in Patiala since the last week of August and the Iranians joined on September 1. It will benefit our boxers as we don’t have enough sparring partners in the heavier weights,” Boxing Federation of India (BFI) executive director Col. (retd.) Arun Malik told The Hindu on Thursday.

“It is difficult to get other foreign boxers for training as the European Championships start on September 15. The boxers in the Americas are preparing for the Pan-American Championships in mid-October and are not willing to travel far.”

Ahead of the Asiad, the Indians will have a camp in Nagoya from September 9 to 16.

Meanwhile, the BFI downplayed the non-allocation of a masseur to the 11 Asian Games-bound boxers. “As per sports science, a masseur is needed during training as he can give a deep muscle massage. But during a competition, a deep massage may sometimes create problems. If someone needs a masseur, we can find one for a gentle massage. We will have a masseur during our Nagoya camp,” said Col. Malik.

“Physios, who know every athlete’s specific needs, play a key role in recovery and rehab when boxers fight one bout after another. A doctor is also needed as boxers can get cuts, which require immediate attention,” he said about the presence of two physios and a doctor in the set-up.

A day after the Sports Authority of India (SAI) suspended the Boxing Federation of India (BFI)’s assessment camp over alleged irregularities, signs of a resolution emerged after talks between the two sides in which the BFI “agreed to rework the selection criteria”.

The suspension order was issued on Sunday (May 10, 2026) after the BFI failed to respond to SAI’s “persistent queries on irregularities in the selection policy for boxers as well as coaches”, said a well-placed SAI source.

SAI said that it has been “bombarded” with complaints from boxers and coaches who have been adversely affected by the policy and the BFI’s “refusal to give a clear explanation” has not helped matters.

“Several complaints have landed at our doorstep, in which boxers are telling us that at this assessment camp, the bout results were not going to be immediately released. Instead, the BFI’s so-called High Performance Unit (HPU), along with the selection committee, was going to have discussions and then decide who to pick,” the source said.

The Boxing Federation of India (BFI) has reworked its assessment framework, switching from round robin to knockout format in sparring bouts, to select boxers for important events.

While waiting for the Sports Authority of India’s approval to induct 40 finalists of the Chief of Army Staff (COAS) Cup in the National camp, the BFI said the assessment would be done in two phases in the run-up to the Commonwealth Games, Asian Games, World Cup Stage-2 and other international events.

Strength and conditioning tests will be held on May 6 and 7, followed by sparring bouts from May 11 to 15. Final standings across weight categories will be decided after sparring.

The evaluation, to be done by a panel of evaluators, will carry 200 marks, combining both technical and non-technical parameters including attendance, weight management, health management, international potential and strength and conditioning.

The framework will also consider recent performances, including results from the COAS Cup. The top-four in Olympic weights and top-two in non-Olympic weights will be part of the National camp.

There were complaints from some boxers after the first assessment held earlier this year for the Asian championships.