International Boxing Association (AIBA) president Ching-Kuo Wu’s recent statement that Sarita Devi is set for a long ban may not have surprised many, but boxers and coaches are shocked that no action has been taken against the judges.
“From my experience , I can clearly say that Sarita won 5-0. But the decision went against her, it was clearly manipulated. But, surprisingly, the world body has not taken any action against the judges,” said V. Devarajan, a World Cup bronze medallist.
The Sarita incident offered the AIBA a wonderful chance to clean up the sport especially since it was launching a brand new professional boxing competition.
“The AIBA officials could have taken a close look at the video recording of Sarita’s bout and changed their decision,” he said.
Arjuna awardee Devarajan is surprised the AIBA chose to ignore the main cause — the alleged unfair judging that handed the bout and a passage to the final to the host boxer Park Ji-Na — behind Sarita’s bitter reaction at the Asian Games but appear keen to punish the Indian heavily for her emotional outburst.
Sarita, who won a bronze, had first refused to accept her medal at the Asiad awards ceremony but a little later she went and hung it around her Korean semifinal opponent’s neck, which forced the AIBA to react strongly.
“Considering the situation, they could have handed her a $200 or $300 fine and given a warning that further problems would bring her a life ban,” said the Chennai-born Devarajan, now a Sports Officer with the South-East Central Railway, from his base in Bilaspur. “Okay, her behaviour was unacceptable. And even after her unconditional apology, if they say they are going to punish her with a long ban, it is not punishment, it is harassment.”
Five countries, including the Philippines and Mongolia, apart from India, had been upset with the judging during the Asian Games, especially in bouts where the host boxers were involved, and had protested at Incheon.
Mongolia even threatened to withdraw its boxers, but instead of restoring the sport’s credibility, the AIBA turned a deaf ear to these protests and chose to punish the victim.
“Everybody knew that the judges were wrong. If the AIBA had suspended one or two judges the same day, it would have brought about a very positive change,” said D. Chandralal, a Dronacharya awardee and former national coach. “Previously, they used to sack officials who were unfair.”
The AIBA, or even the Olympic Council of Asia which organises the Asian Games, should set up an independent panel to study Sarita’s bout and other bouts where protests have come and then take a decision.
“Let an independent panel go through the videos closely. And if they feel that the judges were wrong, disciplinary action should be taken against the officials,” said Chandralal who has been coaching Sarita for the last few years.
The new rules of boxing also make the sport less transparent, feels Chandralal.
“Now, there is a veil of secrecy around scoring and boxers are often at the mercy of the judges. Many boxers don’t like the new rules and as a coach, I also don’t like them too. I think we may be back to the old scoring system soon.”
