Taiwan gains membership in international World Boxing organization

Taipei, Aug. 17 (CNA) World Boxing, a new international amateur boxing organization, has announced the admission of Taiwan, along with four other nations, into its growing list of members.

In a statement released on its website Friday, the Swiss-based organization said its five new members were Pakistan, Bhutan, Fiji, Ecuador and Taiwan, which was admitted under the name Chinese Taipei.

World Boxing said the five new members all have well-rounded national and international boxing programs as well as transparency in the leadership and management of their national boxing programs.

Moreover, the organization said, they abide by the policies and practices of the World Anti-Doping Agency and are all accepted by their own national Olympic committees or state sports ministries.

"I am very happy to welcome Chinese Taipei, Pakistan, Bhutan, Fiji and Ecuador to World Boxing and look forward to working closely with each of them in our efforts to ensure that boxing remains at the heart of the Olympic movement," World Boxing President Boris van der Vorst was quoted as saying in the statement.

With the five latest additions, the amateur boxing organization now has 42 members across all five continents, which it said represents a "significant boost" in the wake of the 2024 Olympic Games.

"My colleagues and I at World Boxing had a very productive two weeks at the recent Olympic Games in Paris when we met the leaders of many National Federations and I am very confident that we will continue to receive more membership applications in the coming weeks," van der Vorst said in the statement.

World Boxing was established in April 2023 with the objective of keeping boxing in the Olympic Games, amid heavy criticism of the current authority, the International Boxing Association (IBA), and doubts about the survival of the sport in future Olympics.

In recent years, the IBA has made multiple questionable decisions, such as disqualifying two female boxers -- Taiwanese Lin Yu-ting (林郁婷) and Algerian Imane Khelif -- at the 2023 Women's World Championships for failing unspecified gender-related tests, and it continued to cast doubts on their gender during the Paris Olympics.

With the IBA's entire operation and future in question, World Boxing held its first formal meeting with the International Olympic Committee in early May to establish a means for boxing to remain in the Olympics.

"It is clear there is a huge appetite for change in international boxing and that many National Federations now recognize the only way we can ensure that boxing has a future within the Olympic Movement is by joining World Boxing," van der Vorst said Friday.