BSF in centre of two protests at boxing meet

Two separate protests were launched against bouts involving Border Security Force (BSF) team members at the All India Police boxing tournament at the Balewadi Sports Complex....

Two separate protests were launched against bouts involving Border Security Force (BSF) team members at the All India Police boxing tournament at the Balewadi Sports Complex.

Commonwealth championship gold medallist Jai Bhagwan felt he had been cheated by the jury when he lost his bout to Pradeep Kumar on Thursday.

UP Police boxer Abhishek Shah,meanwhile,refused to leave the ring as a protest against a contentious decision in his bout with BSFs E Peris Singh and was finally said to be kicked out of the ring on the orders of ACP Sanjeev Singhal.

Singhal said he ordered three havaldars to throw Shah out of the ring after the boxer had not left even fifteen minutes after the decision. The boxer refused to exit peacefully and so I had to use force. The refereeing here is fair,though sometimes a referee can make some mistakes. The boxer was overreacting. Losing one bout will not affect anyones career, Singhal said. Shah refused to comment,except saying that the way he was coaxed out of the ring was a little too harsh.

Jai Bhagwan,on the other hand,was vocal about his grievances. I have been cheated out of a victory, he said after his 14-3 loss. I was winning easily and landed more punches than my opponent,but because the judges have been bought over by the BSF,the bout was awarded in their favour, he told The Indian Express on Friday. Jai Bhagwans Haryana police team also protested and asked for a video referral,but said that they were cheated there as well. We were shown just one and a half minutes of footage in which both boxers were on the defensive. It did not prove anything, Bhagwan said.

Javed Shaikh,sports officer of the All India Police Sports Control Board,insisted there was no foul play and the referees made the decision as they saw it. There is absolutely no partiality as far as the judges are concerned. The decision of Jai Bhagwans fight was fair and we have shown them a video of it as well, he said.

Sunil lone Indian in final

Former Commonwealth champion Sunil Kumar (51kg) was the only Indian boxer to make the final as four others settled for bronze medals at the AIBA 3 Star China Cup in Guiyang City. Sunil defeated Chinas Chang Yong 7-2 and will face Chinese Olympic champion Zou Shiming next. However,Chhote Lal Yadav (57kg) lost 6-0 to Russian Polyansky Dimitry,and Diwakar Prasad (60kg) also settled for a third-place finish after going down 6-2 to Liu Qiang. Kuldeep (75kg) and Jasveer Singh (81kg) also lost their respective semi-final bouts.