JOIN USThe conduct of boxer Laishram Sarita Devi after she lost her 61 kg semi-final bout at the Incheon Asian Games was dishonourable and lacked the spirit of sports. She may have had a grievance that she was unfairly robbed of her victory in her bout with South Korea’s Park Jina. But she violated the best norms and traditions of sporting conduct when at the medals ceremony she refused to accept the bronze medal which was awarded to her and put the medal around Jina’s neck. By rejecting the medal and leaving it behind and by airing in public her complaints about poor and partisan refereeing which she felt worked against her, she went against the code that should guide the words and behaviour of all participants in a sports event.
Sarita Devi did not participate in the games in her personal capacity. She represented the country and so her conduct, good or bad, reflected on the country. Her rejecting the medal and leaving it behind amounted to throwing it away. Her act is a disgrace to the country and calls for strict punishment. Strangely, Boxing India, the Indian boxing body, is silent on the issue – it should have disciplined the boxer in the first place. According to the Amateur International Boxing Association (AIBA) rules, returning medal counts as serious indiscipline; the rules, which came into effect in August, 2013 says no protests against the judges’ decisions will be accepted. Individual participants and team managements have to accept decisions of the referees with grace, irrespective of whether they are happy with them or not. The AIBA said: “AIBA has already proceeded with its disciplinary action process to review this case, and the decision will be made immediately after the Games.”
Misjudgements and wrong decisions are not uncommon in sports events even at the international level. They are more frequent in games like boxing where it is said that the spectators’ impression about the relative dominance of the two contestants may not always be correct, and the demeanour and actions of the boxer in the ring may even be misleading. Sarita unfortunately allowed herself to be overwhelmed by personal emotions and gave the go-by to the best standards of professional conduct. Dignity and poise even in the face of unfair defeat is the mark of a good sportsperson. The decision that went against may have been wrong. But the point is that her response was worse. No sense of nationalism is good enough to justify her dishonourable conduct.