The Indian contingent has decided to drop the case of boxer Vikas Krishan after taking legal opinion and not pursue it any further after submitting a preliminary report to the Court of Arbitration for Sports (CAS).
The jury of the International boxing federation (AIBA) had reversed the decision after Asian Games gold medallist Vikas was declared the winner 13-11 against Errol Spence of the US in the second round of the 69 kg category.
The appeal letter submitted by India to the competition jury was rejected as there was no provision for a review.
“There is a long-established principle that the CAS will not interfere with what are known as ‘field of play’ decisions. A case such as the present one, which involves a decision of the AIBA competition jury to uphold a protest on the basis of misapplication of the rules by the bout referee, would be regarded as a classic example of a case involving field of play was the legal advice on the subject.
It was stated that in the absence of evidence of bad faith, there was no room for CAS to interfere unless under “exceptional circumstances.”
The acting chef de mission of the Indian contingent and the secretary of the Indian Amateur Boxing Federation (IABF), Muralidhara Raja, said that although Team India felt hurt at Vikas losing the bout (13-15) after being declared winner, it was decided not to take the case further with the approval of the Indian Olympic Association (IOA).
