UK Sport have valuable and often thankless task as the cash dispenser to Olympic sports - thankless, that is, in having to fend off those governing bodies who play the Oliver Twist card and ask for more.

As a Government agency, UK Sport have a clear responsibility to be the guardians of money that comes from both the taxpayer and the Lottery and by and large they do a decent job, as you would expect under their admirable chief executive John Steele. But, as they say in show business, you can’t please all of the people all of the time.

And some sports are far from ecstatic at what they have been given in the latest funding round. In the case of two of them cycling and boxing, there has to be a deal of sympathy.

Yet I find myself caught in a web of ambivalence for in the past I have been critical of UK Sport for not giving a little less to the already well endowed and more to those who desperately need more money to get within breathing distance of the podium in 2012. I felt they have been over-generous to the elite because of a target-driven philosophy emanating from Downing Street that is all about winning, rewarding those sports which have achieved success in the belief they are more likely to do so again. The carrot for success and the stick for failure.

So when the changes to funding packages were announced recently there seemed something of a U-turn, awarding less favoured sports including water polo, weightlifting and shooting, hitherto badly hit when funding was slashed after Beijing, given a gratefully-received financial leg-up. I applauded the announcement that some of the £6.5 million of new funds from a successful Team 2012 sponsorship scheme would now be made available to those sports which had previously missed out. Hooray!

But hang on a moment. Closer examination suggested that some dextrous spinning had been applied in a manner more from the school of Alastair Campbell than Baroness Sue Campbell, who heads up the UK Sport show.

For, in the best traditions of New Labour, the bad news seemed to be buried. Not mentioned was the fact that some of Britain’s most successful Olympic sports would actually lose funding, among them cycling which saw a reduction of half a million pounds.

Dave Brailsford (pictured), the mastermind behind Britain’s wheelie revolution, angrily warns that 2012 is now in danger of becoming the "have-a go-Games" with an emphasis of participation over performance.

"This could have a material influence on our programme and affect performance," he argues.

"While I understand and support UK Sport's position in increasing funding for some of the smaller sports it’s a shame it has come at the expense of those with a track record of delivering medals."

There has been a similarly peeved cri-de-coeur from Derek Mapp, chair of the British Amateur Boxing Association. For while UK Sport announced increase of £950,000 what it didn’t say that this was half of what boxing expected, deserved and needed, especially with the advent of women into the Olympic programme.

I agree with the former world champion Barry McGuigan who calls it  "a devastating blow for my sport." Like him I was at the House of Commons bash a few weeks back when the Olympics Minister Tessa Jowell hailed boxing’s Olympic triumphs. So did he former Sports Minister Richard Caborn, President of the ABA, who, waxed long and lyrically about our prospects for London and the support boxing needs as a sport which helps combat youth crime fight crime  by instilling discipline and sportsmanship. Caborn claims to be in boxing’s corner so why hasn’t there been a peep for him about this funding low blow? 

McGuigan points out that only the cyclists outperformed the boxers in terms of medals returned for pounds spent in Beijing, yet the sport received only an third of the money given to the swimmers, sailors and rowers.

At a time when amateur boxing is making a welcome comeback, notably in schools, both Mapp and McGuigan are right to protest. Mapp has had to pick up the pieces and regroup, after the defection of three quarters of then Olympic squad to the pros and the arguably mistaken sacking of Terry Edwards. He has now installed pro trainer Robert McCracken as performance director and head coach and McCracken now faces having to drastically revise his podium squad programme, as well as that of the women, who include a couple of genuine medal prospects.

McGuigan, who has just opened his own boxing academy in Leicester, may occasionally spout a bit of blarney, but he also talks a lot of sense. Yet he is one of those bright and articulate sports people who never seem to get called upon by Government to assist its sports objectives in an advisory capacity.

Others like Tessa Sanderson, David Bedford and the street-wise former karate world champion Geoff Thompson, who runs the independent Youth Charter in Manchester, come to mind. Is this because they are too outspoken. Governments, notably this one (no politicking here because I voted for them) seem afraid to call on sports personalities who speak their mind and put their heads above the parapet. Maybe this is why Dame Kelly Holmes apparently has "jumped ship" and become available to back Tory sports projects.

But back to the vexed question of funding. On a different note it is worth highlighting the situation of one of our outstanding hopes for 2012, the tiny teenage weightlifter Zoë Smith (pictured), a phenomenal record breaker (over 200 to date) and already the Commonwealth Youth champion.

The 15-year-old schoolgirl from Abbey Wood in South East London astonishingly has had her funding suspended by her governing body World Class Lifting (WCL) following a dispute over her coaching programme - she is currently mentored by her personal coach Andy Callard while WCL apparently would like her to be under their supervision in Leeds.

But Zoë’s parents understandably do not wish her schooling to be disrupted and she has made outstanding progress with Callard in Dartford. UK Sport, who emphasise that that the decision has been taken not by them but World Class Lifting, to whom funding is handed out for onward distribution to individuals. "They want her to take the same route as other athletes on their programme." (I suppose you may ask what world class lifting there is in Britain for them to govern other than Zoë).

UK Sport tell us that while they have no say in what WCL do they would be happy to be involved in any discussions to help resolve the issue "as Zoë clearly could be one of GB’s successes in 2012." However since we contacted UK Sport last week there seems to have been a welcome softening of attitudes by WCL, who have been in touch with Callard, and a solution may be nigh. Good news for Zoë and a sport which hasn’t exactly covered itself in Olympic gold dust. Zoë could rectify that.

Let’s hope. Britain’s cash-hit cyclists and boxers can also get that few pounds in weight off their minds.

Alan Hubbard is an award-winning sports columnist for The Independent on Sunday, and a former sports editor of The Observer. He has covered a total of 16 Summer and Winter Games