Indian boxer Sarita Devi, who was competing in the women's lightweight category, left the podium in tears on Wednesday after refusing her bronze medal at the Asian Games in Incheon, South Korea. Ever since her controversial semi-final loss to South Korea’s Jina Park on Tuesday, she and her husband Thoiba Singh have been vocal and outspoken against the Indian officials and the International Boxing Association, whose president, Ching-Kuo Wu, happens to be South Korean.
Boxing in the blue corner, Devi threw punch after punch and to anyone who was watching her bout, she was the dominant boxer. The judges who were from Poland, Italy and Tunisia, thought otherwise and awarded the bout unanimously 0-3 to her Korean opponent. The South Korean opponent walked out of the arena to loud boos that came from the home fans as well.
“Don’t tell me it’s OK! This is not OK! What the hell is going on here?” Thoiba Singh shouted at the reporters outside the venue. “She won this fight and you give it to Korea.” He called for the judges to be sacked. The police had to be called in to control the situation.
It wasn’t only Sarita Devi who got the short end of the judges. On Tuesday, her compatriot L Devendro Singh also stood bemused in the ring after he was declared the loser against his South Korean opponent despite having the upper hand throughout their quarter-final men's light flyweight match.
Mongolian boxer Tugstsogt Nyambayar was also controversially ousted in the men’s bantamweight category, again to a South Korean. Within half an hour of Nyambayar's loss, the Mongolian officials, led by the head of their boxing federation, Badmaanyambu Baterdene, reached the venue, took up the issue with the organisers, lodged a protest and led a walkout of the entire Mongolian boxing contingent. This is in stark contrast to Sarita Devi’s situation.
No officials in sight
The Indian Olympic Association were nowhere to be seen. As Mihir Vasavda reported for the Indian Express, Sarita had to borrow approximately Rs 30,000 from her coach, Lenin Meitei, and an Indian journalist to pay the fee and lodge the protest, which was almost immediately thrown out. According to the rules for the Asian Games, a protest can be lodged but not against the decision of the judges. It was nearly an hour before any officials came to their help as they were tending to other boxers whose bouts were yet to be held.
Indian officials were looking for the quickest way out of the situation. According to the Mumbai Mirror, India's deputy chef-de-mission Kuldip Vats left the arena without offering any assistance and neither he nor Indian Olympic Association general secretary, Rajeev Mehta, put down the money needed for the appeal.
Other boxers have also spoken out against the incident. Vietnam's Bang Le Thi who lost to Mary Kom in the semi-finals said that even she was shocked by the result and told reports, "Of course Park won, because she is Korean."
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Boxing in the blue corner, Devi threw punch after punch and to anyone who was watching her bout, she was the dominant boxer. The judges who were from Poland, Italy and Tunisia, thought otherwise and awarded the bout unanimously 0-3 to her Korean opponent. The South Korean opponent walked out of the arena to loud boos that came from the home fans as well.
“Don’t tell me it’s OK! This is not OK! What the hell is going on here?” Thoiba Singh shouted at the reporters outside the venue. “She won this fight and you give it to Korea.” He called for the judges to be sacked. The police had to be called in to control the situation.
It wasn’t only Sarita Devi who got the short end of the judges. On Tuesday, her compatriot L Devendro Singh also stood bemused in the ring after he was declared the loser against his South Korean opponent despite having the upper hand throughout their quarter-final men's light flyweight match.
Mongolian boxer Tugstsogt Nyambayar was also controversially ousted in the men’s bantamweight category, again to a South Korean. Within half an hour of Nyambayar's loss, the Mongolian officials, led by the head of their boxing federation, Badmaanyambu Baterdene, reached the venue, took up the issue with the organisers, lodged a protest and led a walkout of the entire Mongolian boxing contingent. This is in stark contrast to Sarita Devi’s situation.
No officials in sight
The Indian Olympic Association were nowhere to be seen. As Mihir Vasavda reported for the Indian Express, Sarita had to borrow approximately Rs 30,000 from her coach, Lenin Meitei, and an Indian journalist to pay the fee and lodge the protest, which was almost immediately thrown out. According to the rules for the Asian Games, a protest can be lodged but not against the decision of the judges. It was nearly an hour before any officials came to their help as they were tending to other boxers whose bouts were yet to be held.
Indian officials were looking for the quickest way out of the situation. According to the Mumbai Mirror, India's deputy chef-de-mission Kuldip Vats left the arena without offering any assistance and neither he nor Indian Olympic Association general secretary, Rajeev Mehta, put down the money needed for the appeal.
Other boxers have also spoken out against the incident. Vietnam's Bang Le Thi who lost to Mary Kom in the semi-finals said that even she was shocked by the result and told reports, "Of course Park won, because she is Korean."