Nakht Zareen said on Thursday that the past two weeks had been “torturous” for boxers, who were affected by the dispute between the Boxing Federation of India (BFI) and the Sports Authority of India (SAI).The SAI objected to the selection process based on the BFI’s assessment after receiving complaints from several boxers. Evaluation camps to select squads for this year’s Commonwealth Games and Asian Games He was later suspended midway, forcing the federation to revert to a trial-based electoral system.This situation left boxers to deal with frequent changes in schedule and training plans.“The last two weeks have been like torture for our boxers. I don’t want to blame any one person or body. But the athletes were crushed between the two (SAI and BFI) issue,” Nikhat told news agency PTI on the sidelines of the trials on Thursday.The national camp was originally scheduled to start on April 25 but was delayed and postponed. Nikhat said the uncertainty made it difficult for athletes, especially those trying to maintain their weight for evaluation.“We were told that the camp will start from April 25 but then the (SAI) approval did not come. Then they said that once the camp starts on April 29, the evaluation system will also start.”“They told us that if you cut back on training or modify it, points will be deducted. We also had to stick to weight goals. First five percent of body weight two to four and then one. They weighed in until May 10.”“Then the contention session was supposed to start on May 11. Then that too got postponed and then the trials started on May 13,” said Nikhat.Under the revised format, bouts are now decided by the head coach and four judges, with winners announced immediately after the bouts.The earlier system, which included points for fitness, attendance and contention, has been removed.“We were given a plan and we were all following it. We had a physical test, a beep test, a strength test and everyone did their best. In the end, we were told that whatever test we took, the points given would not count.“As a boxer we had our focus and training, we were stressing about the lack of training because it would lead to a point deduction. With that in mind, we also trained through niggles. And in the end we were told it wouldn’t count. So that was very disappointing.”Nikhat later lost 1–4 to Sakshi Chaudhary in the 51 kg semi-finals of the Commonwealth Games and Asian Games selection trials.The defeat means that Telangana boxers currently have no international tournaments, as the BFI plans to send only two top-ranked players for the competitions.“I am mentally and physically unfit. I am not able to spend time properly at home. I have not got any break since January 2025. Now I want to take a break and prepare for future tournaments.”The 29-year-old boxer, who won gold at the Commonwealth Games and bronze at the Asian Games, said she is now focusing on next year’s Olympic qualification events.“It was disappointing that I could not qualify for the CWG and the Asian Games. If I had, I would have tried to change the color of my medal (at the Asian Games).
