Two German boxers compete under the German flag at the World Championships in Uzbekistan. The German Boxing Association announced that it was a private “tour group”. He asked the world association for clarification – so far without any reaction.
Moldovan Andrei Zaplitini entered the second round of the Boxing World Championships in Uzbekistan with a score of 5:0. The individual ratings are neat and tidy in the official result lists of the International Boxing Association (IBA) written down. As usual at such events and especially at World Championships, the nationality abbreviation follows the name. Zaplitini has the MDA for Moldau (also known as Moldova), his opponent Youssef Lazar has the GER for Germany.
Olympic qualification is official
This is surprising, because the German Boxing Association (DBV) had announced that it would not send any athletes to the tournament in the Uzbek capital, Tashkent. The official reason was that the German boxers can prepare better for the European Games in Kraków, which begin on June 21st.
The boxing tournament there is – in contrast to the World Cup – a qualification for the Olympic Games in 2024. It doesn’t fit “To lead an athlete who was just in a World Championship tournament to the next performance highlight so quickly. That’s why we decided that in consultation with the athletes.”says Jens Hadler, the new President of the DBV since March Interview on the association’s website.
Another possible reason is that the IBA, under the leadership of the shady Russian President Umar Kremlev, has been allowing Russian and Belarusian athletes since November 2022 and thus also at the World Cup, under the flag of their country, for which the anthems are also played.
German sports associations that take part in such competitions received no financial support from the federal government for months. However, this decree from the Ministry of the Interior from March 2022 has now almost been repealed. This has to do with Olympic qualifications, but also with a shift by the International Olympic Committee, which will allow Russian and Belarusian athletes to compete in the Olympics, despite Russia’s ongoing war against Ukraine, which is backed by Belarus – albeit under a neutral flag.
strange picture
German boxers in Tashkent still create a strange picture due to the announcements. This is also why the DBV sent a letter to the world association on May 1st, one day after the opening of the World Cup. In the letter available to the sports show, the German association points out to the IBA that the two athletes – apart from Lazar also Devrim Gökduman – and a trainer (Pascal Stern) would not represent Germany. They were not sent by the association and also without the knowledge of the DBV as “tour group” flown to Uzbekistan. “We therefore ask you to change your participation to a neutral status immediately”the letter says.
That didn’t happen until the second day of competition. The abbreviation “ENG” is still included in the lists, the live stream offered by the IBA showed on Tuesday (02.05.2023) that Gökduman wore the national colors on his jersey. According to the DBV, Lazar and Gökduman, who survived the first round by beating the Nepalese Bhupendra Thapa, have never been in the national squad. After all, Pascal Stern is known to have the A license as a coach.
“We value the fact that the athletes and the coach are a travel group of private individuals with German passports who in no way represent Germany or our association.”said Michael Müller, sports director of the DBV of the sports show. “I don’t know whether the IBA will change that according to our wishes. We can’t force them.”
Lure offers from Tashkent?
According to information from the sports show, it is unlikely that the IBA will comply with the DBV’s request to change the status of the registered athletes. Rather, it can be heard that other associations that wanted to stay away from the World Cup are also in a dilemma. The athletes are said to have been lured by the organizers with money to come to Tashkent.
Second world federation founded
Amateur boxing has been in crisis for years. The IBA has been suspended by the International Olympic Committee (IOC) since 2019 because of many misconducts, which are mainly attributed to Kremlev. The organization of the 2024 Olympic tournament, which is at risk, is therefore up to the IOC. Boxing has already been removed from the program for the 2028 games in Los Angeles.
In order to keep boxing as an Olympic sport, a new “World Boxing” association was founded in mid-April, also with the support of the DBV. However, the German association emphasized that this was not a general departure from the IBA. He wants to be a member of both umbrella organizations.