New Delhi: Bulgarian coach Petar Yosifov Lesov was kicked out of the ongoing women’s world boxing championships in New Delhi after he threw a bottle in the ring to protest the loss of Olympic champion Stanimira Petrova.
Petrova accused the judges of “corruption” and her coach threw a tantrum after a 2-3 split decision verdict in favour of India’s Sonia Chahal in the 57 kg category.
Petrova, who won gold in the 54 kg category in the 2014 edition, said it was not a “fair result”. “It is corruption by the judges,” the 27-year-old told reporters after the pre-quarterfinals bout.
The International Boxing Association (AIBA) soon revoked the credentials of Lesov who won the flyweight gold in the 1980 Olympics and has been a coach for nearly three decades.
“The AIBA has decided to remove the accreditation, and therefore the right to be in the corner, from the coach of the Bulgarian delegation Petar Yosifov Lesov due to his unacceptable behaviour,” the world body said in a statement.
“The International Boxing Association does not tolerate, in any circumstances, such behaviour against the AIBA values and AIBA Code of Conduct, especially being a coach. The incident will be forwarded to the Disciplinary Commission for further review,” it added. It is not the first time that judging at an international boxing event has been dogged by controversy.
The IOC has threatened to keep boxing out of the Tokyo 2020 Olympics and beyond with issues around judging being one of the major factors.
IOC has been losing patience with boxing since a judging scandal at the 2016 Rio Games when all 36 officials and referees were suspended while allegations of bout-fixing were investigated.
