On Day 11 of Asian Games 2014, one witnessed contrasting emotions of 29-year-old pugilist Sarita Devi in Incheon.
One was that of an aggressive high on confidence boxer who dusted away
her South Korean opponent in four rounds of match while other was that
of a teary-eyed Sarita emerging few minutes later. So what went wrong
between this short period of time? One understands it to be the unfair
decision on part of the event judges and to make it worse was the
behaviour of the Indian Officials. We often ask this question as to why
India fails to win as many medals in global sporting events; why are we
satisfied with one gold medal in Olympics or a top 10 finish in Asian
Games? Are our athletes not good enough or is there a deeper reality to
its darker and bitter truth? The recent controversy around Sarita Devi’s
semi final bout gives a much clear picture to it and open a few can of
worms.
What exactly happened?
Indian boxer Sarita Devi took on South Korea’s Ji-na Park in the semifinals of lightweight (57-60 kgs)
boxing event in the 17th Asian Games at Incheon on Tuesday. Even as the
Indian clearly pummeled her South Korean counterpart in a one-sided
encounter, the judges gave a unanimous decision against her. The
decision was so shocking that even the South Korean coach came and said
sorry to the Indian boxing coach.
What followed?
Clearly a miffed Indian contingent
raised a cry over the issue. Coaches, players and even a journalist
pooled in money to collect USD 500 to lodge an official protest, as
reported by Mumbai mirror. However, the Indian Olympic Association (IOA)
secretary Rajiv Mehta, who was completely unaware of the incident,
preferred to have a warm seating in the VIP box when the issue was
raised with him.
According to the report,
even when a teary eyed Sarita Devi went and asked him, “why was the
appeal not filed?” he walked off without uttering a word. IOA deputy
chef-de-mission Kuldip Vats too chose to remain quiet on the issue and
walked away. The real intentions of the IOA officials who are touring
with the Indian contingent may never be known. Maybe they were there
purely to enjoy a vacation, maybe they didn’t care much for the players,
and maybe there is something more ugly and murky behind their actions
that haven’t surfaced yet in the open. But certainly their lack of spine
proves why Indian sports are in an appalling state. Sarita Devi wasn’t
the only one to suffer the fate of biased judgment. Devendro Lashiram,
another medal hope from India had to face a similar fate. Much unlike
India, Mongolia’s chef-de-mission Badmaa-nyambu-Baterdene threatened to
withdraw his boxing contingent of the decision against his player wasn’t
overturned. But the intentions, love for sports and patriotism is far
removed for our Indian officials.
resource: http://goo.gl/ohKVbi
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