Number of countries willing to participate at the traditional international tournament for the Cup of the Amateur International Boxing Association (AIBA), President Anwar Choudry is decreasing.
American team, which initially wanted to arrive for the tournament, has later changed its plans, president of the national Federation, Agadjan Abiyev told Trend. The major reason is a bird flu threat at the European continent. However, absence of the US team will not be feasible, considering the growth of competition at the tournament, he said. We had multiple sparring meetings with competitors defeating them with large scores. So foreign guests could hardly hope to gain any significant awards, he said.
Cuban team also refused to participate at the championship due to the lack of means to finance a long range trip.