By Nick Butler

POC President Jose Cojuangco Jr believes action needs to be taken to resolve problems in the judging of boxing ©TwitterPhilippine Olympic Committee (POC) President Jose Cojuangco has called for the Olympic Council of Asia (OCA) to look into problems with the judging of boxing competitions, because, he claims, the current rules are setting a bad example to athletes.


His comments come after the boxing programme at the Asian Games in Incheon was overshadowed by claims that officials favoured fighters from the host nation South Korea over those from other countries.

A total of five National Olympic Committees have registered complaints about the judging to the OCA, with Mongolia and India others to have publicly aired their grievances. 

Mongolia Chef de Mission Badmaanyambuu Bat-Erdene admitted to being shocked and claimed that "something was wrong with the rules" after Nyambayaryn Tögstsogt lost on points to Ham Sang-Myeong in the under 55kg semi-final, despite appearing to dominate the bout.

An official warning was also handed to India's Sarita Devi for her conduct after she refused to wear her bronze medal after a similarly controversial defeat to Park Ji-na in the women's under 60kg semi-final.

The Philippines was among the countries that felt aggrieved after two of its boxers, Ian Clark Bautista and Mark Anthony Barriga, lost to South Korean opponents.

The Philippine's Mark Anthony Barriga in action during the Asian Games before losing controversially to South Korea's Shin Jong-hun in the under 49kg semi-final ©Getty ImagesThe Philippine's Mark Anthony Barriga in action during the Asian Games before losing controversially to South Korea's Shin Jong-hun in the under 49kg semi-final ©Getty Images



The Philippines did win four medals in the sport in Incheon, including bronze for Barriga, but, coming from a country which has a rich pedigree in the sport and has produced leading professional fighters such as Manny Pacquiao, they are determined that alleged problems should be resolved.

"I think the leadership of the OCA will look into this matter," Cojuangco, whose daughter "Mikee" Cojuangco-Jaworski is a member of the International Olympic Committee (IOC), told the The Philippine Star.

"I will bring this up in my one-on-one talk with the OCA President [Sheikh Ahmad Al-Fahad Al-Sabah] in November.

"This has to be looked into carefully.

"It's not only losing, the athletes are also affected, and it's not good.

"It teaches not only the losers but also the winners that this is the way it should be."

The International Boxing Association (AIBA) has introduced major changes in the rules in the scoring in recent years to combat judging problems, with the most infamous scandal of the past also coming on South Korean soil at Seoul 1988, when Roy Jones Jr  was judged to have lost the light-middleweight final against home fighter Park Si-hun despite landing 86 punches to Park's 32.

An official IOC investigation ending in 1997 found that three of the judges had been entertained by South Korean officials.

But, on this occasion, AIBA has hit out strongly against the latest accusations, with a spokeswoman telling insidethegames that the governing body is "satisfied with all results at [the] Asian Games and respects all decisions made by referees and judges".

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