‘Need more qualified judges’

A day after All-India Police boxing championship saw two protests by boxers and then alleged that the judges had cheated,Beijing Olympic bronze medallist Vijender Singh and Beijing quarter-finalist Akhil Kumar threw their weight behind the players.

“There is no importance given to rules and regulations in these tournaments and even the judges are not qualified enough. If national- and international-level boxers are taking part in an event,then the judging and video recordings must be at par with international standards or the tournament should not be held,” said Vijender.

Akhil agreed. “Most of these tournaments are the criteria for departmental promotions and this is one of the major factors behind such incidents,” he said.