Sarita wanted to show the world this was not acceptable, says her husband

After learning that AIBA, amateur boxing’s governing body, has opened disciplinary proceedings against boxer L Sarita Devi, her husband, Thoiba Singh, launched a passionate defence of his wife’s actions. Sarita created a huge stir by refusing to accept her bronze medal during the presentation at the 2014 Asian Games. Her refusal stemmed from her belief, and it was clear to anyone who watched the fight, that she had beaten her South Korean opponent Jina Park in their lightweight 57-60 kg semifinal. However, the judges’ verdict went in favour of Park, causing the majority of the audience to loudly boo the decision. “Instead of punishing those officials and the people who conspired against the Indian boxer, they [AIBA] are trying to ban the boxer who has fought tremendously in the semifinal bout,” Thoiba told CNN-IBN. [caption id=“attachment_1739551” align=“alignleft” width=“380”] Sarita Devi left her bronze medal lying on the podium after her fight. Reuters[/caption] “It is really disgusting. It is against the spirit of Olympic Boxing. Everyone should raise their voice against the world body.” Sarita has also found support from gold medal winner Mary Kom, who was in no doubt her teammate had been cheated. “She is very brave and she has all my support,” Mary told NDTV . “I don’t know if she has put her career at risk, but it is a very courageous decision to return the medal. I know she will keep competing, she is a fighter, she will fight through this, and she will win a medal at the World Championship right here in Korea (in November). “Obviously, there is no doubt that Park won because she is Korean. Sarita dominated the fight. These things happen, they happen all the time in boxing, but it is usually about 1-2 points. But this was open cheating, this should not happen.” On Wednesday evening, AIBA put out a statement saying it had decided to investigate Sarita’s actions after its supervisor, David B. Francis, known as the Technical Delegate, submitted a reported to the Olympic Council of Asia. “The whole incident looked like a well planned scenario by her and her team, and it is regretful to watch a boxer refuse the medal regardless of what happened in the competition. In this regard, as the Technical Delegate, I had to request OCA to review this incident, so any boxer or athlete in other sports will not follow in her footsteps by respecting the spirit of fair-play and sportsmanship of the Olympic Movement” The irony of citing fair-play and sportsmanship after a fixed fight might be lost on AIBA, but it was not lost on Sarita’s husband. “What she has done is not disgrace the sport. What she has done is for the betterment of the sport. In that context, the world body must take stringent action against those officials rather than banning and doing silly stuff against Indian boxers.” Thoiba also denied the protest had been pre-planned. “Actually, I told her before coming to the podium, whatever you feel like doing or saying for the sake of sports, for the sake of Indian sports in particular, just do it,” he said. “They should not take the Indians for granted. Being the host country and doing those silly things are not acceptable. Show the world you are not going to bow down to those disgraceful things. Show the world that was not acceptable. Asked why Sarita chose to make a public protest rather than do it behind the scenes, he said otherwise the world would not have taken notice of what happened. “She wanted to make the point that that this is not acceptable to me, this is not acceptable for the entire sporting community. She wanted to set an example that this is not acceptable. “She wanted to show the people I am not going to accept the bronze medal. I don’t deserve it. I should be in the final.” Thoiba said the pair planned to fight any ban that might be imposed on Sarita for her actions. “We will definitely appeal against the world body. This is not good for the sport. This is not good for future generations. You are setting an example that whoever comes against the world body, whether they are right or wrong, will be punished. This is not good for the world of sports. “Hoping the Indian boxing fraternity and government will back her and put pressure on the world government to lift the ban in case it comes against her,” he said. “After reaching India, we will try to consult experts about how to tackle this situation. How to tackle this problem and convince them that whatever she has done is for the sake of sports, for the sake of future generations, for the sake of the Olympic movement. “We should try and save one of the brightest sportspersons in the country,” Thoiba said.