… The IOC Boxing Task Force to determine the way forward on May 7 following the cancellation of qualifiers
“We’ve instructed our boxers to stay focused, to keep training because there’s nothing off the table,” said Steve Ninvalle, president of the Guyana Boxing Association (GBA), in answer to questions from Chronicle Sport, in terms of routine new qualifiers for boxers hoping to realize their Olympic dream in Tokyo, Japan this summer. Keevin Allicock, Desmond Amsterdam, Colin Lewis, Dennis Thomas and Taveena Kum of Canada, the lone woman in the team, were hoping to lift five of the 49 spots for the Tokyo Olympics in the May 10-16 now cancellation. American Boxing Confederation (AMBC), Qualifiers in Buenos Aires, Argentina. The International Olympic Committee (IOC) Boxing Task Force said in a statement, that the tight travel restrictions and locksmiths operated throughout South America have significantly disrupted international travel and posed logistical challenges for teams traveling to and from of Buenos Aires, jeopardizing their ability to participate in the event. Given the nature of the event, as an Olympic qualifier, which will award a large number of direct quota places (49) for the Olympic Games, ensuring fair access and a safe environment for all athletes and officials was important.
According to the Boxing Task Force, due to the complexity and nature of the boxing sport and the large number of international participants, it was considered impossible to either change the venue, or reschedule the event to a later date. Given that only the boxers who registered to compete in the American qualifying game would have had a chance to win one of the Olympic quota places originally at stake in the event, the allocation of 49 athlete quota places (33 for men, 16 for women) The American Olympic Qualification will remain unique to the athletes registered for the event. All 49 quota places in the American Olympic Boxing Qualifiers will be allocated through the Boxing Task Force Site.
Allicock, ranked 19th in the world by the global governing body of amateur boxing, AIBA, is the Guyanese boxer on the top list to participate in the Qualifiers.
“If you ask me, if I am optimistic that someone, or some Guyana boxer can make the Olympics, I would say yes, due to the fact that there is nothing off the table so far,” Ninvalle stressed.
Ninvalle told Chronicle Sport, “the IOC would have said, in our meeting with you, that you can sometimes get a boxer that isn’t even listed up to the qualifying standard, so it’s not a matter for us ; That is, we have done what we had to do. We have been training for the canceled Olympic Qualification.
“It’s all up to the International Olympic Committee (IOC), the organizers of the qualifying match, because they would have taken that from the AIBA (International Boxing Association).”
He said the Guyanese boxers will “continue to do what they do and when the IOC would have distributed the pilot list for this region, we still hope Guyana is part of that. . ”
Only after the 49 athlete quota places in the American Olympic Qualification are allocated will the reallocation of the original 13 World Olympic Qualification quota places be redirected to America, and will follow the Eligibility Criteria found in the current Tokyo 2020 Eligibility System for boxing.
The updated version of the Qualifications system for Tokyo Games will be published after it is approved by the IOC Executive Board, expected by May 7.