Top boxers win as refereeing issues continue to spark row

Greater Noida, Jan 7 (PTI) Star boxers, including Nikhat Zareen and Minakshi Hooda, lived up to their top billing with easy wins but the spotlight once again fell on questionable refereeing as the National Boxing Championships were marred by fresh controversy and a disrupted bout here on Wednesday.

Controversy dominated the men's competition as one bout was abandoned after disruption while another one saw a boxer bite his opponent.

Railways Sports Control Board boxer Ishmeet accused All India Police's (AIP) Mohit of "biting" him during their middleweight (75kg) bout.

After receiving a standing count in the opening round, Mohit allegedly bit Ishmeet on the shoulder multiple times in the second round, prompting the Railways boxer to complain to the referee and show visible bite marks.

Despite the protest, the referee allowed the bout to continue.

"We have opposed the decision. The referee should have stopped the bout immediately instead he let the bout go on," a Railways coach told PTI.

Biting in boxing is a severe foul that results in penalties up to immediate disqualification. After the bout, the medical officer took pictures of the alleged bite marks for inclusion in the Technical Delegate's report.

The Bantamweight (55kg) contest between Service's Pawan Bartwal and Lalit was ruled in favour of the former after the second round following a mid-bout protest by AIP's contingent.

Pawan was leading 3-2 after the first two rounds when several AIP coaches and staff entered the field of play and the ring to question the decision, halting proceedings.

The officials eventually rules that the Lalit had abandoned the bout as he failed to report to the centre even after the time warning.

"Both rounds were 3-2 in favour of Pawan but the second round should have been 5-0 in our favour. The TD then created a ruckus and claimed that our boxer wasn't ready to box in the third round and ruled the bout as abandoned," an AIP coach said.

The AIP said it would lodge an official protest.

The Services camp countered the claims, stating that Lalit was tired and that the Police coaches staying inside the ring even after the time warning was a strategy to buy extra time for recovery.

"In the Bantamweight (50–55 kg) bout between Pawan (SSCB) and Lalit (AIP), the boxer from the Police contingent was officially declared Abandoned in accordance with the competition rules after he did not turn up for the third round of the bout," the Boxing Federation of India (BFI) said in a statement.

BFI Technical Director Rajan Sharma said a detailed report on both incidents would be submitted to the federation.

The latest controversies come just days after Olympian Ashish Chaudhary was disqualified in contentious circumstances from his opening-round bout, further raising concerns over officiating standards at the championships.

In the other bouts of the day, Nikhat (51kg) needed less than two minutes to force a referee-stopped contest win against Ladakh's Kulsooma Bano in the pre-quarterfinals, while Minakshi (48kg) secured a unanimous decision victory over Jharkhand’s Annu to advance to the last eight.

World champion Jaismine Lamboria conceded a walkover in the 57kg category due to a shoulder injury.

Amit Panghal (55kg) continued his campaign with a hard-fought 4-1 win over Krrishpal of Chandigarh, while Abhinash Jamwal (65kg), Jadumani Singh (55kg), Sachin Siwach (60kg) and Hitesh Gulia (70kg) also progressed to the quarterfinals with dominant performances. PTI APA APA BS BS