Basnet joins the ever-growing list of victims, which includes national champion coach Prabin Tuladhar and seven national gold medalists, who have all been at the receiving end because of the arrogance of the controversially elected NBA President Rajiv Shrestha and the favoritism policy he has adopted.
"I have sacrificed a lot for boxing in the past 14 years but I have never been selected for international tournaments. That's because the president has categorically said that I do not belong to his panel," said the boxer from Lalitpur, who stole the show during the latest edition of the 25th National Boxing Championship last year with his dazzling display of refined boxing prowess that earned him the best boxer accolade.
The 29-year-old heavyweight pugilist is paying the price of exposing the alleged misdeeds and financial irregularities of the NBA during the national team's trip to Thailand last year as a part of preparation for the 17th Asian Games held in Incheon, South Korea.
NBA President Shrestha dismissed the allegations as baseless.
However, Basnet provided Republica a copy of itinerary containing all the details of the costs incurred during the team's Thailand trip along with 'forced' signatures of the players, which he has also presented to the member secretary of the National Sports Council (NSC) for investigation.
He had filed a complaint at the highest sports body of Nepal, the NSC, earlier this month after sensing that the few productive years left in his amateur boxing career had almost come to an end because of the high-handedness of the NBA leadership.
Nepali boxer Ghimire in semi-final of K1 World GP 2022
In the letter addressed to the NSC member secretary, Basnet has claimed that the NBA sought Rs 5,52,900 from the NSC showing fake expenses of US$ 50 per day for each of the 12 members of the national team during their 18-day stay in the Thai city of Bonanza. Print copies of emails from Thailand Boxing Association, which were attached with the letter, clearly stated that the Nepali boxing team did not have to bear any cost in Thailand.
"There will be no financial charges (for training and accommodation) for the Nepali boxing team coming to the training camp. Furthermore, there will be joint training with Thailand National team," reads an email sent by Thai boxing's international relations officer Kraitac Kaewkate to NBA General Secretary Deepak Gurung.
Former NBA President Umesh Maskey, a towering figure in Nepali boxing, who achieved Nepal's first international boxing medal during the Asian Boxing Championship in Bombay in 1980, told Republica over telephone that the morality of the current NBA leadership has degraded a lot as compared to the golden era of Nepali boxing in the 1980s.
"Yes, current officials have been making fast bucks. They even pry on stipends allocated for players," said Maskey, adding, "It is really unfortunate that there are irregularities and in-house squabbles. I have always asked all of them to remain united as a family."
Maskey validated Basnet's claim that a group of talented players have been unjustly denied opportunity to compete at the international level.
Following the exposure, NBA issued a letter to Basnet on July 6 accusing him of breaching discipline and violating the NBA code of conduct for his rebellion on social media. A board meeting of NBA on the same day had sought clarification from Basnet and had decided not to involve him in any kind of activity related to boxing unless he furnishes clarification in this regard.
Despite the official ban that came just last week, the NBA had been treating Basnet and lots of other boxers unfairly since the unceremonious rise of Shrestha to power on February 18, 2012 under questionable circumstances.
Shrestha's panel claimed to have elected him the president with majority votes during the third General Assembly of NBA, although, the election process had been cancelled by NSC representative Min Sharma after a group of dissidents led by another presidential candidate and former NBA president Rabi Raj Thapa boycotted the late-night event. Much later, the NSC upheld the decision giving legitimacy to Shrestha.
Ever since, Shrestha has been accused of high-handedness and favoritism but has also been credited, even by his rivals, for organizing much more tournaments than the previous executive committee.
According to Basnet, the NBA courted controversy by selecting Dina Gurung for the AIBA World Boxing Championship held in South Korea in 2013 despite the player never having played a national championship.
The list of alleged injustice goes on and on.
Republica had published an exclusive story last year highlighting Shrestha's favoritism as the president handpicked coaches for the national team who were close to him instead of the ones who deserved the position. Army's coach Prabin Tuladhar was considered to be the undisputed man for the job after leading the Tribhuvan Army Club to three consecutive titles, including the last national championship. But despite his impressive resume, Shrestha snubbed Tuladhar and chose Om Maskey, Prachanda Sharma and Harish Bahadur Chand for the three vacant posts of the national team coaches.
Recently, the players of the army club, which boasts of seven national champions out of 10, cried foul after being ignored by the NBA for the First Doha International Boxing Championship held in the Gulf nation from May 20 to 24. The NBA selected two other players within closed doors without even informing the army players about the international event.
President Shrestha clarified to Republica that the allegations had nothing to do with him personally because all the selections are carried out by technical committee of NBA.
Basnet likened Shrestha to Hitler, ruling the dissidents with iron fist.
"The NBA officials have been biased. This is nothing but their monopoly," he said, adding, "It is time to do something for a change."
"My career might be over but I will not let the future generation suffer," said Basnet.
