Tainted Indian boxer Sarita Devi has been handed a one year ban along with a fine of 1000 CFH (Swiss Francs) for refusing to accept her Bronze medal following a controversial semi-final loss in the Incheon Asian Games in October, 2014. The International Boxing Association (AIBA) has announced this decision yesterday.
Sarita Devi was involved in a controversial fight against Park of South Korea in the semi-finals of the 60 Kg women’s boxing where she lost the bout in spite of having an upper hand throughout the bout. Once the bout was over, she Sarita claimed that she was robbed off the match and the referee gifted the bout to the opposition. She had to depend on an Indian journalist and her coach for money to appeal the decision as IOA backed out of the arena once this incident took place.
In the medal ceremony, Sarita Devi refused to accept the medal which triggered a lot of controversy. Initially, it was expected that Sarita will be banned from boxing but once she apologized for her actions, her punishment was set to be reduced. In between, Sarita was sent back home from National Boxing Camp a couple of months ago.
Many Indian celebrities wrote to the sports ministry to support Sarita. Indian batting legend Sachin Tendulkar, Five-time World Champion MC Marykom and other sports personalities had met the Sports Minister Sarbananda Sonowal and had urged the entire nation to back Sarita.
On December 10, Sarita Devi had finally received her medal from Indian Olympic Association (IOA) secretary general Rajeev Mehta.