Boxers denied basic amenities

Bengaluru: Over 100 boxers, who are here for the inaugural South Zone Boxing Championships at the Koramangala Indoor Stadium, were forced to sleep on the floor on the eve of the competition, with basic accommodation facilities still being put in place hours after their arrival.DH visited the competition venue, hosted by Karnataka Amateur Boxing Association, on match day minus one and again on the opening day and found that athletes from southern states, who had been asked to report from 1.00 pm onwards on Wednesday, initially had little option but to rest on the floor. Mattresses were eventually provided by evening but without cots.Commonwealth Games 2026 | Indian women rule boxing ring with five goldsThe arrangements were markedly different for coaches and officials, with coaches being provided cots and mattresses in air-conditioned rooms while 35 federation officials from various states were put up in hotels nearby.In contrast, the boxers’ dormitories did not have air-conditioning and wardrobes, leaving athletes to live out of their suitcases through the competition. One boxer said the lack of basic storage facilities had added to their difficulties.”We have not been provided any lockers,” the boxer told DH on the condition of anonymity. “We don’t even know where to dry our clothes and are forced to put them on the windows of our dormitories. Even the washrooms provided are not clean. But they have provided rooms to the coaches and federation officials are staying in hotels but nobody seems to be doing anything for the athletes.” “When we go for national events in the northern part of the country, athletes at least get cots to sleep on. It’s not perfect there either but we get beds and lockers.”Karnataka Amateur Boxing Association (KABA) general secretary Sai Sathish, however, defended the arrangements, saying the organisers had provided what they considered necessary for the boxers. The official confirmed that KABA was hosting around 120 boxers and 35 officials from southern states — including AP, Telangana, Tamil Nadu and Puducherry — at the event.”We are hosting the event for the first time, we did not see anything unusual about athletes sleeping on mattresses on the floor. We have taken cue from the arrangements made by other federations hosting taekwondo and judo at their competitions,” said Sathish.Commonwealth Games 2026 | Preeti Pawar, Jasmine Lamboria bag gold medals in boxingResponding to concerns over sanitation, Satish said another event, which he described as a film-related programme, had been held at the stadium two days earlier and that this had initially affected the cleanliness of some rooms.He maintained that the organisers had since thoroughly cleaned the accommodation and said any further complaints regarding dirty rooms would be addressed immediately.Boxers competing on the opening day of the South Zone Championships. DH photo

Source: Deccan Herald