India’s 2008 Beijing Olympics bronze medal-winning boxer, Vijender Singh reacted in disbelief on Friday to the news that boxing may be dropped from the 2028 Los Angeles Olympics. “This is shocking and will be devastating for India and our boxers,” Vijender told mid-day from his home in New Delhi after boxing, weightlifting and modern pentathlon were left out of the initial list of 28 disciplines in the 2028 programme.

Three new sports

Skateboarding, surfing and sports climbing have taken their place for now and it will be up to the members of the International Olympic Committee (IOC) to approve this exclusion at a meeting in February 2022. The three sports, however, can have a “pathway for inclusion” at the 2023 annual meeting of the IOC members, chief Thomas Bach said. The IOC has demanded reforms in boxing and weightlifting, where corruption and doping have been issues, while the modern pentathlon body has been asked to do away with equestrian jumping.