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Sarita Devi refused her boxing bronze medal: All you need to know
Why did Sarita Devi refuse to accept her medal?
- The opening round of the semifinal was a 50-50 affair but later on things changed as the game further proceeded.
- The Korean competitor started holding more and took more of a battering from Sarita.
- Later, Sarita unleashed a series of hooks and jabs forcing the referee to break the bout twice.
- During the one-sided fight, Sarita simply pummelled her rival with her flurry of quicksilver blows - at times raining four to her rival's one.
- Her punches were connecting and the Korean was clearly hurt.
- But the referee refused to give the Korean the count.
- And at the end of the fourth round, the referee eventually raised Park's hand as the winner.
- Sarita was clearly the better of the two pugilists but the judges thought otherwise.
- Sarita Devi was shocked and stepped out of the ring without saying anything.
- Sarita appeared to be a clear winner in the bout, dominating the proceedings in such a way that Park barely managed to stand the assault.
- The verdict of the judges prompted her to lodge a protest. However, the appeal was rejected.
What happened at the prize giving ceremony?
- After losing the appeal against the judges' decision Sarita tearfully made her way to the medal ceremony.
- Crying bitterly on the podium, Sarita first refused to wear the medal before handing it over to Park.
- Then she shared an emotional hug with the home boxer.
- Sarita, the former Asian and world champion after hugging Park left the ceremony.
What did Sarita say?
- "They could have just told me that she will win at any cost. I would not have turned up for the fight," Sarita Devi said after the match.
- "I know that the decision cannot be reversed now. But I request all those who run the sport to ensure that such a thing does not happen again. Please don't play with the career of players who work so hard," she added.
She is not alone there are more in the list
- This is not the only case in the 2014 Asian games.
- Another Indian boxer, L Devendro Singh (49kg)also faced the same situation with his South Korean competitor.
- A similar fate awaited Mongolian boxer Tugstsogt Nyambayar against Korea's Sangmyeong Ham in Men's Bantam weight quarterfinal.
- Both Mongolia and India protested against the decision, but seemed to have happened in all the cases.
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Story first published: Wednesday, October 1, 2014, 18:33 [IST]