This Press Release is being sent to all of you so that the controversy regarding Mary Kom (Manipur) being selected to represent India in 51 kgs in the forthcoming Asian Games at Guangzhou vis-à-vis Sarita Devi (Manipur) can be set at rest.
Mary Kom is the reigning World Champion in the 48 kgs category and won her record fifth title at the Women World Championships at Barbados ten days ago ie. on the 18th September 2010. Sarita Devi who has been a former World Champion in 52 kgs in 2006 when the World Championship was held in India at Delhi had earlier won a Bronze Medal in 54 kgs in 2005 and again a Bronze Medal in 2008 at Ningbo, China. In this year’s World Championship at Barbados she lost her second bout against Sumeyra of Turkey (a small and short boxer) and hence did not get any medal. Sumeyra also lost her next bout and she also did not get any medal.
The selection trials for Asian Games was held at Bhopal on 22 August 2010. After the Trials the Selection Committee sent the names of 3 selected boxers to Indian Boxing Federation alongwith the CDs of the Trials. Since this is the first time that Women’s Boxing is being included in the Asian Games, the bouts of all boxers on the CDs were reviewed by IABF with the help of qualified International Referees & Judges including the undersigned who was a Referee & Judge at Athens Olympic Games 2004 as well as many World Championships, Commonwealth Games and Asian Games earlier and is presently the Chairman of Asian Boxing Confederation Referees & Judges Commission as well as a Member of the International Boxing association (AIBA) Referee & Judge Commission. The verdict of all the Referees & Judges who viewed the CDs in India were that the results of the Trials at Bhopal as stated by the Selection Committee were inconclusive and that Mary Kom’s scoring was better and hence she should have been declared the Winner at Bhopal. The same was true for the other two wt cats. Hence, IABF took the decision of holding a re-trials on 22 September and the same was communicated by the undersigned to all the boxers at the World Championships at Barbados after most of them except Mary Kom had lost their bouts. This was to ensure that this information should have no bearing on their performance at the World Championships. It may also kindly be noted that the results of Selection of Men’s Team was communicated to the Ministry by IABF in August immediately after selection and also informed IOA and SAI that Women’s Team will be finalized after another Trials on 22 Sep.
Accordingly the second Trials were held on 22 September 2010 at Talkatora Stadium. Except Mary Kom who had to fight her last bout ie. finals on 18 Sep, the others had sufficient time for preparation and they were all practicing at Barbados itself. During the Trials on 22 Sep, IABF had stated that Media and friends of the Boxers can witness the Trials. However, the CWG Security intimated that Press will not be permitted with Cameras etc. Yet a large number of Press witnessed the Trials. The coaches, friends & relatives of the Boxers were also present to witness the Trials. There were atleast 150 spectators who saw the full Trials on 22 September. There was a 3 Tier system for selection, ie. AIBA approved Computerised Scoring system which was operated by qualified Referees & Judges, Scoring done by the Jury Members and Video Recording of all the bouts. The Selection Committee & Jury Members who were present on 22 Sep were : Mr OP Bharadwaj, Dronacharya Awardee, Mr Md Ali Qamar, Arjuna Awardee & Commonwealth Games 2002 Gold medalist, Mr Mehtab Singh, Arjuna Awardee, Mr Anup Kumar, Dronacharya Awardee & National Coach and the undersigned who is the Secretary General of IABF and an International (AIBA) Referee & Judge. In 51 kgs there were 3 contestants ie. Meena Kumari (National Champion) in this Wt Cat as both Mary Kom and Sarita Devi had lost their bouts in the Nationals in their wt cats in addition to Mary Kom and Sarita Devi. Mary Kom played against Meena Kumari and beat her comprehensively as recorded in the Judges scores and that of Jury. Sarita also beat Meena Kumari but by a narrow margin. Then in the bout of 2 rounds between Mary Kom and Sarita, Mary Kom beat Sarita. After the initial bout of 2 rounds each between the three boxers, the Jury decided that Mary Kom and Sarita are the best two in this wt cat and hence they were made to fight another 3 rounds against each other. The judges decision was unanimously in favour of Mary Kom by a large margin as the score difference was 7 pts. The Jury Members were also unanimously in favour of Mary Kom in their individual scores and the CDs are also available wherein Mary Kom is seen as a clear winner in the complete Selection Trials.
In International Boxing, AIBA has brought in many changes wherein passive boxing or running around without scoring is being penalized. In the World Championships at Barbados, Mary Kom was the only successful Indian Boxer as she has an attacking style of play combined with good tactical skills, footwork and crisp hard punches.
In view of the explanations in the abovementioned paragraphs, the Selection Committee of IABF selected Mary Kom to represent India in the 51 kgs at Asian Games Guangzhou in Nov 2010. The Federation nor the undersigned has nay personal interest in any particular individual. Indian Boxing Federation has always strived to keep its selections as open and transparent as possible and has always invited the Press & Media to come and witness. Accusations by Sarita Devi that the undersigned is showing favouritism is not justified. The personnel who watched the Trials at Talkatora Stadium on 22 Sep which included journalists and media people are testimony to the fact that the best have been selected to represent India at the forthcoming Asian Games. Should anyone be interested, the copies of the CDs can be provided and they can satisfy themselves with the results of the Trials.
Indian Boxing federation has great respect for its boxers especially Sarita Devi who is an Arjuna Awardee and has brought laurels to the Country on many occasions from 2001 onwards. However, when it comes to selection of boxers to represent the Country, we believe that the best boxer in each wt cat who has been selected in a fair, transparent and impartial manner should only get the opportunity. We should not succumb to blackmail and pressures being brought by various interested parties. At the end of the day, ‘Sport must Win’ and not individual preferences.
With warm regards,
Col PK Muralidharan RajaSecretary GeneralIndian Boxing Federation
