LONDON - The man who lobbied the International Olympic Committee
(IOC) to give women's boxing its Games debut in has backed the
36 pioneer female fighters to impress at London 2012.
And Dr Wu Ching-Kuo, president of the International Association
of Amateur Boxing (AIBA), expects them to perform so well that
their numbers will be increased come the 2016 Olympics in Rio de
Janeiro.
"To include women at the very beginning was not easy as the IOC
has quotas for each sport and the AIBA have been allocated 286,"
said the 65-year-old Taiwanese who, with the agreement of the
AIBA Congress, took away 36 Olympic spots previously allocated
to male boxers to create a women's tournament across three
weight divisions in London.
"They (the IOC) weren't going to change so we had to adjust and
our Congress came up with the allocation after we had a thorough
discussion.
"How they (female boxers) perform here at the Games is very
important. The IOC will also look at their performances and if
they are excellent it will be my duty to ask for more (places)."
Wu, who has been in his post since 2006, said the omens for a
women's boxing tournament that starts in just over a week's time
were good.
"The tickets for the women's competition are sold out and
television are fully committed.
"Women's boxing is not dangerous, it is full of skill and we
look after their welfare.
"The IOC is fully informed and for the 2016 Games I do hope we
can get more women into competition, indeed as many as
possible."
Wu, who saw his influence within the IOC grow when he was
elected onto the elite executive board on Thursday, said he saw
an opportunity to do just that.
"The IOC is going to go through enormous changes in the next
year," he explained. "The Olympic Programme Review is over the
next year and we will ask for more of a (women's) quota.
"I am quite confident we will get it."
Wu, elected on the back of promising widespread reform of AIBA,
said the global governing body had made huge progress in
welcoming women into the sport at all levels since he had taken
over.
"AIBA were the last sport to have women included," he said.
"That was very significant. You can see on Sunday there are
women referees, there are female technical officials.
"Although we only have three women's categories here, this is
just the beginning," he added.
More on Dr. Ching-Kuo Wu
AIBA President Dr. Ching-Kuo Wu was elected on November 6, 2006
during the AIBA Congress held in Santo Domingo with high hopes
of reforming AIBA into a transparent, trustable and
professonally operated governing body. President Wu has
successfully brought about a new era of boxing with his
determination and devotion to rebuild AIBA and boxing’s
reputation within the sporting community. AIBA has become a
respected and model organization where efficiency, honesty and
equality are ever present. President Wu continues to build on
the qualities of AIBA and reach for higher, bolder goals that
will bring boxing into a category of its own. (Source: AIBA)
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