Why did Vikas Krishan give his opponent a walkover in an Asian Championship semi-final?
Rediff.com's Laxmi Negi finds out.
Vikas Krishan was the top seed in the Asian Championships, the favourite to win gold.
Now the Haryana lad, one of the most decorated young Indian boxers -- a bronze medallist at the World Championships and a Asian Games gold medal winner -- finds himself in a controversy of sorts.
After having qualified for the Asian Championships (75 kgs) semi-final on May 6 in Tashkent, Krishan forfeited his bout and gave fourth seeded Korean Lee Dongyun a walkover.
If sources are to be believed, Krishan returned to India in the middle of the championships to fulfil visa formalities for the World Series of Boxing.
He returned the same night he won his quarter-final bout in the Asian Championships.
The 25 year old is part of the amateur boxing team, the British Lionhearts.
Krishan has cited injury for leaving the competition mid-way. By then, he had already won bronze at the Asian Championships and qualified for the World Championships.
Vikas is due to fight at the WSB on May 11 in Paris, where the British Lionhearts will face off against the France Fighting Roosters.
On Tuesday, May 9, Boxing Federation of India President Ajay Singh said Krishan would not be allowed to compete in the World Series of Boxing.
'He is certainly not going to compete in the World Series of Boxing,' Singh was quoted as saying. 'Plus a disciplinary committee will seek an explanation from him on the matter. He has apparently claimed he was injured, but we have to find out if it is genuine.'
© 2024 Rediff.com -