Olympic Council of Asia to take up Sarita Devi's refusal to accept medal

Devi had refused to accept her bronze medal, protesting against judges' decision in her semifinal bout

The organising committee of Asian Games today said that Indian boxer L Sarita Devi's refusal to accept her bronze medal during the ceremony was "regretful and against the spirit of sportsmanship". The committee said the Olympic Council of Asia (OCA) will decide the matter now.

 

"The matter has gone to the working group of the Olympic Council of Asia who would decide on the matter now," said the organising committee's deputy secretary general, Cheon-taik Son, at the media briefing.

 

Light weight woman boxer Devi was robbed of a shot at gold due to poor ring-side calls by the judges in her semi final bout against her South Korean opponent Jina Park on September 30. 
 

Devi accepted her bronze medal by hand and hung it around the neck of silver medallist Park before leaving the podium.  

 

"The working group of OCA would decide on the matter and it also depends on the athlete," said Son.

 

"It's very regretful this has happened and against the goal of Asian unity we had set ourselves for ahead of the Games. It was also against the spirit of sportsmanship and the action showed disrespect to other athletes. It was a very unfortunate incident," he said.

 

"We have ensured that there's no such thing as home advantage in these Games. Still boxing is a very subjective sport. The spectators might see blood on a boxer's face but it could be different from the judges' count of scoring punches."

 

"There have been a lot of protests in boxing but no formal complaints have been lodged. We have written to AIBA. It's unfortunate that it happened in a game where a Korean was involved," Son said.