It followed her controversial women's lightweight semi-final bout with eventual silver medallist Jina Park of South Korea.

Devi was left in a flood of tears after she was adjudged to have lost against the home favourite, despite a dominating performance in the ring.

The boxer had matched Park blow for blow in the opening round and was markedly more aggressive and precise thereafter.

The 32-year-old - and the majority of spectators, media and officials in the Seonhak Gymnasium - believed Devi to have won the fight, with Jina barely able to stand come the final bell.

The judges scored the bout 3-0 in favour of Jina, however, sparking outrage amongst Indian fans and media alike.

"I felt that I should not accept the medal because I deserved to be in the final," Devi said after the medal ceremony.

"I don't mind if they take any action against me.

"But I did not feel like accepting the medal and so I did that."

India's Sarita Devi refused to accept her bronze medal during the medal ceremony of the women's lightweight boxing contest, leaving it on the podium before she left the venue
©AFP/Getty Images



When the medal was handed to Devi, she walked over to Park and placed it around her neck instead. 

Upon refusal by the South Korean, Devi took back the medal only to leave it on the podium as she walked off.

Following these actions, the AIBA technical delegate David Francis submitted a report to the Olympic Council of Asia (OCA) regarding the incident.

"The whole incident looked like a well planned scenario by her and her team, and it is regretful to watch a boxer refuse the medal regardless of what happened in the competition," Francis said.

"In this regard, as the technical delegate, I had to request OCA to review this incident, so any boxer or athlete in other sports will not follow in her footsteps by respecting the spirit of fair-play and sportsmanship of the Olympic Movement."

Following yesterday's fight, Devi's husband, Chongtham Thoiba Singh, is reported to have confronted officials screaming: "You've killed boxing!"

He grabbed his wife's arm and tried to lead her in protest back to the ring, where the next bout was already under way, resulting in scuffles as their path was blocked by security.

"Don't tell me it's OK," he shouted.

"This is not OK!

"What the hell is going on here!"

"She won this fight and you give it to Korea."

Police were called into the arena and stood in a cordon between the press area and the ring.



Devi was not the only boxer to face controversial judging in last night's boxing at Incheon 2014, with similar situations occurring in Indian light flyweight Devendro Singh Laishram's bout with South Korea's Shin Jong-Hun and Mongolia's male bantamweight Tugstsogt Nyambayar's fight with Ham Sang-Myeong, another boxer from the home country. 

The Mongolian went as far as to stage a brief sit-in protest after the decision was made in the quarter-final bout, which went against him 3-0, before lodging an official complaint to AIBA.

Mongolian National Olympic Committee President Demchigjav Zagdsuren was reported to have spoken out about the decision, calling for "fair play" at the boxing competition.

He added in a statement: "We wish to have fair play and true judging in boxing for the sporting spirit of the games."

"We have zero tolerance for misjudging in boxing competitions."

A spokesperson for the Mongolian National Olympic Committee confirmed to insidethegames that the appeal was lodged by the organisation, alongside a letter to the AIBA and Incheon 2014.

He stated that no response had been received regarding the letter but the team's official protest had been rejected.

"Yesterday was a very sad day for Mongolian boxing and all seven boxers lost in a same day," he told insidethegames.

"Especially, our potential champion Tugstsogt Nyambayar, Olympic and world silver medalist, has [been] misjudged and referees decided to lose him, even [though] he was dominating the bout."

Devi similarly lodged a complaint of her own but without the backing of the Indian Olympic Association (IOA), the Indian press have claimed.

A report by DNAIndia states Devi and her husband were forced to find the $500 (£300/€400) "review fee" themselves after Indian officials advised against lodging the official protest.

As word spread, help came through "people pooling in" until the sufficient sum was raised.

Once the protest was lodged, DNA claims IOA secretary general Rajeev Mehta then "played to the gallery" stating: "IOA will bear the expenses and refund this amount."

In a statement by the AIBA, the world governing body for boxing outlined the whole incident, stating: "In early September, AIBA had provisionally recognised Boxing India as the new National Federation representing the sport of boxing in India, ending the exclusion of the previous National Federation.

"However, all boxers participating at the Asian Games currently were selected by the Ad Hoc Committee formed by the Indian Olympic Association, not by Boxing India.

"It was clear that the whole Indian boxing team were protesting the AIBA referees and judges' system and management, which was obviously caused by a lack of understanding of the AIBA Technical and AIBA Open Boxing Competition Rules."

After a brief description of the procedure that was undertaken by India after yesterday's bout, which stated that the "Indian team did not follow the AIBA Technical Rules and protested against the judges' decisions, though the rules only allow a protest against the referee's decision", the statement added: "AIBA has already proceeded its Disciplinary Action Process to review this case, and the decision will be made immediately after the Asian Games."

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