Women given right to box at 2012 Olympics

Women boxers earned the right to step into the ring at the London Olympics in 2012 after an historic decision yesterday to eradicate gender inequality at the summer Games.
British fighters rejoiced at the chance to compete in front of a home crowd while equal rights campaigners claimed a long overdue victory.
Government ministers said that the decision by the IOC to admit women would boost participation in a fast-growing sport central to the national fitness agenda. Amid the celebrations, though, the sport was thrust into a potential battle over money as officials pushed for more public funding to support the new medal prospects.
It is understood that they want an extra £2 million over the next three years to fund the women’s programme, which could produce two medals in 2012. Men’s boxing was awarded more than £8 million by UK Sport, the government’s funding agency, after winning three medals in Beijing and targeting four in London.
The sport, awarded a similar sum to badminton, judo and basketball, all of which failed to win medals in Beijing, already feels undervalued. After cycling, it argues that it offers the best per-medal return on taxpayers’ money.
Derek Mapp, chairman of the British Amateur Boxing Association, said: “The IOC’s decision will alert other countries to funding the sport. We need to retain our advantage by investing further.”
UK Sport will review its 2012 grants in December for potential reallocation in April next year. UK Sport said: “We will work with boxing to increase athlete funding. We want this to happen because of the medal potential.” The amount boxing is seeking, though, is likely to exceed what can be delivered given that some sports such as volleyball and handball face the prospect of no public money at all after 2010.
The IOC rejected a bid for inclusion at the Beijing Games amid fears that a lack of competitive depth would result in dangerous mismatches. Since then, the sport has progressed strongly. Jacques Rogge, the IOC president and a former boxing doctor, said: “It is time we included them in the Games.”
Women will compete in three weight divisions in 2012: flyweight 48kg-51kg, lightweight 56kg-60kg and middleweight 69kg-75kg. In order to keep the total number of Olympic boxers at 226, one of the 11 male categories — most probably 48kg — will be dropped.
Equality campaigners feel that is a small sacrifice. Tessa Jowell, the Olympics minister, said it “opened up the last of the Olympic closed shops”. “London 2012 will create the first ever generation of boxing heroines and hopefully inspire even more women to take up the sport,” she added.
Sport England estimates that more than 19,000 women box regularly. The number of registered amateur boxers has jumped from 50 in 2005 to 642.
Source:The times