Shame at the Asian Games : Systematic killing of the game
- The Sangai Express Editorial :: Ocotber 02, 2014 -

A little departure from Chongtham Thoiba, husband of Sarita Devi - it was not only boxing that was killed but the spirit of Asian Games.

The sense of outrage and of being wronged is understandable. Here is a lady who outfought her opponent only to be denied a win by some damp or deliberate refereeing in the semi-final of the 60 kg women’s boxing in the Asian Games at Incheon, South Korea.

The same sense of injustice was also felt in the quarterfinal match between L Devendro and Shin Jonghun.

Interestingly, Shin Jonghun has been labelled the home favourite by the media and hereby hangs a tale, the remnant of which may be read into the questionable judgement of the referee including the three ring side judges. The same thing may also be said of Jina Park, the lady who was given the winner tag over Sarita.

Given not earned and this is saying something a lot.

That the two boxers who were given the winners’ tag were both South Koreans has only gone on to add to the overwhelming suspicion that a carefully scripted plot may have come into play to decide the outcome of the matches.

It was not only India and Manipur which felt wronged. Mongolia has already gone ahead and threatened to withdraw all its fighters following controversial decisions which have been interpreted as favouring the home boxers.

Moreover it has already lodged an official protest with its bantam weight boxer staging a brief sit-in-protest after a contentious loss and it remains to be seen how India would respond to the highly questionable judgement of the referees in boxing.

Not good for the sport and certainly not at all good for Asian Games, for here the stakeholder is not only the sportspersons but the innate instinct of man to strive for excellence.

Winner takes all may be a truism but as with so many other facets of life, there are ways and means to define who is a winner and who is not.

And so it goes that more often than not winners may be decided by means which are not universally acceptable. Unfortunately this was what happened inside the boxing rings on September 30.

It may also have happened earlier if the protest lodged by Mongolia is anything to go by.

The understanding of home ground advantage certainly seems to have been twisted and turned into something unacceptable if one takes into account of what happened on September 30 inside the boxing rings.

The tears that Sarita shed after her rival was announced the winner, were not tears of sorrow or exhaustion, but it was more of an expression of protest against the lop sided judgement that was delivered. It carried meanings much more than a woman weeping over the result of a bout.

Sarita and Devendra lost and in their losses, the Asian Games climbed down not one or two but numerous notches down the ladder.

It was not just a matter of some boxing matches but had to do with the overall standing of the Asian Games and a pity it is that there are countries or entities which have a totally misguided understanding of home ground advantage.