More controversy at Incheon as Chinese boxer is denied gold

IANS
Zhang Jiawei (blue)

Incheon, Oct 3 (IANS)

Chinese boxer Zhang Jiawei lost the men's 56 kg final to Ham Sangmyeong of South Korea at the Asian Games on Friday, but had no idea why he was defeated.

Zhang, 25, reached the final as he did four years ago at the Guangzhou Asian Games and believed he had the upper hand during the three-round final, reports Xinhua.

"I don't know why I lost the match. I fought well and I thought I had won. But boxing is just like that. What I can do is to train harder and make myself better in the future," said Zhang, after the referee lifted his opponent's hand after the fight.

Cui Fuguo, the Chinese boxing contingent's team leader, said that he felt helpless facing the situation. "I thought our boxer obviously had the upper hand and many coaches from other teams also agreed. However, we could do nothing now as we are not allowed to file complaint against the judges."

The judges faced strong challenges Tuesday after they announced Ham beating Tugstsogt Nyambayar from Mongolia 3-0 in the quarter-finals. All three judges agreed the host boxer won 29-28. Nyambayar and his coach refused to leave the ring for several minutes but challenged in vain.

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