Refereeing at the ongoing National Boxing Championships has come under the scanner after Olympian Ashish Chaudhary was disqualified from his opening-round bout, prompting the Boxing Federation of India (BFI) to order a review.
Competing in the men’s 80kg category, the 2019 Asian Championships silver medallist was disqualified less than two minutes into his bout on Monday after officials ruled that he had deliberately clashed heads with Haryana’s Rupesh, resulting in a bleeding injury. The referee initially declared the clash accidental, gave Rupesh a standing count and called for medical attention. However, after consultations with the Technical Delegate, the decision was reversed, and Ashish was disqualified, leading the Himachal Pradesh boxer to lodge an official protest.
Following the controversy, the BFI initiated a review and temporarily relieved the referee of duties for a day. “We asked the Technical Delegate to examine the incident. Since the matter was under investigation, the referee was not assigned duty for that day and has since been restored to the roster,” BFI Executive Director Col Arun Malik told PTI. He added that after reviewing statements and footage, the Technical Delegate concluded that the decision was in line with World Boxing technical rules and was fair.
Ashish, however, maintained that the head clash was accidental. “Anyone watching the video can see it happened in the flow of the moment. I did not intentionally hit him with my head. I was moving away after leaning in to punch when our heads collided. Is this how an Olympian is treated?” he said.
The Himachal Pradesh Boxing Association (HPBA) also strongly objected to the ruling. “We strongly condemn and protest this decision. If you watch the video, the referee clearly signals that the clash was accidental, not intentional,” said HPBA president and BFI vice-president Rajesh Bhandari.
While the BFI has been live-streaming the National Championships, the video of the controversial bout has notably been removed from the federation’s YouTube channel. The episode has also raised questions within the boxing fraternity about the credentials of the Technical Official involved. “Narendra Nirwan is not a qualified Technical Official himself. He should not have been sitting there in the first place. How can he make such calls?” said an official on condition of anonymity.
Saweety questions judging
Former world champion Saweety Boora also raised concerns over judging after losing a closely fought bout to Tokyo Olympics bronze medallist Lovlina Borgohain. Saweety led 4-1 after the first round but eventually lost 2-3.
“I was landing clear scoring punches. In my view, the bout should have ended in the first round itself after Lovlina was given three counts, but it went the distance,” Saweety said. “Sometimes there is pressure on referee-judges when two top boxers are fighting, especially when one is a medallist. I thought I would get a 5-0 verdict, but that didn’t happen. She wasn’t landing punches in the target area.
“If you don’t give other boxers opportunities, how will you produce more medallists?” she added.
