The International Boxing Federation (AIBA) has said that it will reconsider the decision to award India the Men's World Boxing Championships in 2021 after India denied visa to a Kosovo boxer.

AIBA said it was unfortunate that the government of India took a regrettable political decision to not grant visa to Donjeta Sakiku. The Indian government does not recognise the government of Kosovo and as such did not grant visa to their lone eligible participant at the Women's World Boxing Championships, currently underway in the Capital.

The Men's World Boxing Championships are scheduled to be held in India in 2021 but following India's refusal to grant visa to the Kosovo athlete, the AIBA has said that it is forced to reconsider its decision to award the hosting rights to India.

Here's the full statement from AIBA:

It is indeed extremely disappointing to note that the Government of India could not find any satisfactory solution for the young athlete Donjeta SADIKU (Light 60kg) and the delegation from Kosovo despite the joint efforts made by AIBA and the Boxing Federation of India over the past weeks, days and hours to clear the status of their Entry Visas.

"We are deeply concerned by this situation. Any boxer shouldn't be affected by any political decision while trying to achieve the dream of competing at the international level. Politics and sports should in no way be mixed. We appreciate the efforts made by the Boxing Federation of India, but AIBA will need to reconsider the 2021 Men's World Championships bid. This being said, we wish to reiterate our sincere apologize to Donjeta SADIKU and the boxing family of Kosovo," said AIBA President Gafur Rahimov.

When awarding the hosting of an AIBA event, one of the International Boxing Association primary requirements is the capability of guarantee that all eligible athletes and delegations could participate, without any discrimination and beyond any political consideration. It is very unfortunate that the Government of India has taken again the regrettable political decision of not allowing an athlete to achieve her dream of competing at a World Championships.

Therefore, AIBA will study the appropriate actions will need to be consider to ensure that this situation never happens again, including the possibility to re-open the bidding process for the AIBA 2021 Men's World Boxing Championships due to take place in India.

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