New Delhi, July 17: The Indian Boxing Federation (IBF) suspended five referees and one judge on Saturday after reviewing their decisions during the just concluded 57th Senior National boxing championships.
The IBF acted after the executive committee members unanimously felt that the ring officials’ “poor performance cost some pugilists dearly” in the annual tournament.
Referees Rakesh Bhardwaj, Umesh Gupta, Ajay Negi, Panigrahi and Rajan Sharma have been suspended, while Dharamveer is the only judge to face the IBF’s wrath for a “bad show”.
“No one has complained against them but we had to take note of their disastrous show. Some boxers suffered only because of their poor conduct.
Their performance was a disgrace and the IBF executive committee decided to take action against them,” an IBF source said.
“For the boxers, who have not yet made it big, the nationals are the only opportunity to make a mark in front of the coaches and the selection panel and it is heartbreaking to see some good ones go out just because they didn’t get a fair deal,” the source added further.
Allegations of biased judging are a regular affair in the nationals and it was no different this time.