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Haryana officials disrupt national boxing after home boxer loses
Trouble started after Railways’ Varinder Singh was awarded a unanimous decision in the lightweight quarter-final against Haryana's Gaurav Solanki
For nearly an hour the Elite Men’s National Boxing Championships in Hissar, Haryana on Wednesday plunged into chaos after 2018 Commonwealth Games champion Gaurav Solanki lost to twice national champion Varinder Singh in the quarter-finals of the lightweight (60kg) division at the Chaudhary Charan Singh Haryana Agricultural University.
Solanki, representing Haryana, refused to leave the ring after despite Varinder of Railways receiving a unanimous 5-0 decision. To make matters worse, a few officials of the Haryana State Boxing Association, which is organising the nationals, entered the ring and confronted the technical bench leading to a long standoff that held up bouts.
The bout was intense with fast exchanges but Varinder, an Asian medallist, stood out with his clean punching in all three rounds. He was sharp and showed good footwork and reflexes to score.
The Solanki-Varinder bout was the first after lunch on Ring 1. Bouts in both the rings had to be stopped due to the chaos and boxers who had lined up for their bouts were forced to wait by ringside. Solanki didn’t budge from the ring for almost 30 minutes. Eventually, the protesting Haryana boxing officials relented and Solanki left.
The newly launched review system of the International Boxing Association is being tried out here. However, Lenny D’ Gama, tournament director and technical delegate who led the way in pacifying the irate officials and boxer, said there was no provision to review unanimous verdicts.
“They wanted a review of the bout saying it was a wrong decision but we cannot do it in unanimous decisions. Only a 3-2 verdict can be reviewed by the judges and evaluators. They later calmed down,” said D’Gama, India’s most experienced technical official who has officiated in several world championships and at the Tokyo Olympics.
“What happened was unfortunate. It shows the tournament in poor light. I am going to take up the matter with the disciplinary committee of the Boxing Federation of India (BFI),” he added.
Another BFI official called for disciplinary action against Solanki.
“It is a national championship and the job of the hosts is to see the tournament is held smoothly and not create disruptions. Solanki is an international boxer and he is aware of the rules. He should not have stood there in the ring in protest,” he said.
Solanki slammed the officials. “It was an incorrect decision. It should have been reviewed. The referee in the ring did not warn my opponent despite several clinches in the third round,” he said.
Kaushik, Shiva in semis
Manish Kaushik and Shiva Thapa stormed into the light welter (63.5kg) semi-finals to set up an exciting clash. Kaushik, the 2019 world championships bronze medallist, defeated Rohit Ningehougan Singh of Manipur while seasoned Thapa hardly broke sweat in getting past Ashutosh Kumar of Punjab. Manish, on a comeback after injuries, is seeking to avenge his defeat to Thapa in the Commonwealth Games trials. Also entering the semi-final was CWG bronze medallist Mohd Hussamuddin (57kg) with a 5-0 win over Manish Rathod (Uttar Pradesh).
Abhimanyu upsets Ashish
In one of the most exciting matches of the day, Abhimanyu Loura of Haryana upset Tokyo Olympian Ashish Kumar in the 80kg quarter-finals. Both went all out in attack but Loura had enough in the tank to land some lethal punches amid strong support from the local crowd for a 5-0 win.
