New Delhi: As boxing stumbles from one controversy to another at the London Olympics, former Indian pugilists such as Akhil Kumar have been left baffled by the "inconsistent" scoring system and erratic refereeing that has marred the bouts in the biggest sporting show on earth.
'Robbery and cheating' are the words resonating at the Excel Arena in the British capital almost everyday and the International Boxing Association has had to suspend a couple of judges besides overturning results of two bouts so far.
The Indians too have been at the receiving end of some contentious calls, the most recent being Manoj Kumar's (64kg) ouster despite seemingly dominating his pre-quarterfinal bout against home favourite Thomas Stalker.
"The current system (of showing scores only at the end of the round) is inconsistent, the previous one (in which scores were updated live) was better. Olympics is the biggest event and such controversies are sad," India's first World Cup bronze-medallist and national selection committee member V Devarajan told PTI.
"I don't understand the scoring system that is being followed in the Games," said 2006 Commonwealth Games gold-medallist Akhil Kumar.
Akhil felt while the system is the same for everyone, what matters is the people implementing it -- the judges who do the scoring and the referees who oversee the bouts.
"It's the same for every boxer but the difference lies in the people implementing it. Are they good enough? I am happy that at least our boxers are now being supported and people are speaking up for them. In our time, no one raised a voice," he said.
Comments
0 comment