Olympic Council of Asia reinstates L Sarita Devi's medal, but all's not well

DNA, Incheon, 3 October 2014:The Olympic Council of Asia (OCA) on Thursday reinstated braveheart boxer L Sarita Devi's bronze medal after top Indian officials tendered an unconditional apology on Wednesday night.

The medal, which Devi had refused to accept on Wednesday, was handed over to India's chef de mission Adille Sumariwalla. It is understood that a battery of Indian officials, including chief boxing coach Gurbaksh Singh Sandhu, pressured Devi into writing an apology.

But just before the OCA working committee meeting, chaired by former Indian Olympic Association secretary-general Randhir Singh, met on Wednesday evening, a senior Indian official submitted a written apology.

"There are several complaints, not just from the Indian side, against AIBA officials. And we are in process of seeking an official explanation from AIBA," a senior OCA official said on condition of anonymity.

Devi and the other boxers left for New Delhi on Thursday evening. Her husband, Thoiba Singh, said "Sarita will not accept this medal unless the organising committee tenders a written apology".

"Let the organising committee come to Sarita and tender a written apology and accept that there was grave injustice done to her. Otherwise, there is no way that she will accept this medal," he told dna.

That said, the Manipuri pugilist is likely to face sanctions from AIBA. Even though Devi is being called a crusader, not many in the Indian camp have stood by her.

"This will put us in a difficult situation as AIBA will make life hell for Indian boxers. She has made her point, but now she should try and defuse this tension for the sake of others," a senior boxer told dna.

A boxing official attributed this "fear" to the attitude of AIBA officials towards the Indian team since the Devi episode. On Thursday afternoon, a senior Indian boxing coach greeted AIBA executive director Ho Kim, but the South Korean refused to acknowledge him.

"We've been clearly told that the entire boxing contingent will be penalised for what has happened here. Top AIBA officials have already told us they believe this was a premeditated move by the Indian boxing contingent," an official said.

For now, all eyes are on the sports ministry and their reaction after Devi's arrival in India.

'Devi showed lack of sportsmanship'

L Sarita Devi's refusal to accept her bronze medal on the podium went against the values of sportsmanship, Asian Games organisers said on Thursday, adding they were reviewing the incident and could take action against her. "She needs to respect the official ruling and show sportsmanship. Her actions were not sportsman-like," Son Cheon-taik, deputy secretary general of Incheon's organising committee, said at a news conference on Thursday. "The Olympic Council of Asia is working on the review of the medal, whether or not to give it to her or confiscate it. So they are deciding what to do with it."