India federation handed double suspension

India's government suspended the national boxing federation Friday, dealing it a fresh blow after it was frozen out by the sport's world governing body for "possible manipulation" in internal polls.

Only days after the Indian Olympic Association was suspended by the IOC over its election of a tainted official, the Indian Amateur Boxing Federation (IABF) found itself on the receiving end of similar punishment.

"This provisional suspension is... due to the fact that the AIBA had learned about possible manipulation of the recent IABF," the International Boxing Association (AIBA) said in a statement.

The AIBA "will now investigate this election", added the statement, which also singled out its concern over the election of Abhey Singh Chautala as IABF chairman after vacating the post of president. His brother-in-law Abhishek Matoria was elected president in his place.

Chautala was on Tuesday also elected unopposed as the president of the Indian Olympic Association even though the International Olympic Committee had made it clear that the vote would not be recognised.

Matoria said he was surprised the IABF had been suspended since the world body had been told of the election process in his federation. "The AIBA had specific queries about the election process and we had explained to them that there was no manipulation," Matoria was quoted as saying by the Press Trust of India.

AFP