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KORAT (Thailand) - THE men's boxing tournament at the SEA Games was thrown into confusion here on Thursday after Philippine fighters retired from their fights, alleging unfair judging.
Philippine fighters were scheduled to fight in seven of the ten gold medal bouts against host nation Thailand, but they instead opted to retire, gifting the gold medals to their Thai opponents.
The Philippines' chef de mission Monico Puentevella said: 'We are not blaming Thailand. We are blaming the referees and the judges and the jury because we're not getting the real deal here.
'We came here to compete in a spirit of friendship, but yesterday (Wednesday) one of our (female) boxers lost 19-0 in a three-round fight. We can't even get a single point. This is too much. It has been going on for a decade everywhere.' Amid huge confusion in a packed arena, athletes from boxing stronghold the Philippines continued to emerge to receive their medals as officials were locked in talks.
'We are telling the judges and jury to shape up otherwise they will destroy the spirit of the games,' said Mr Puentevella.
'Our fighters did not come here to be beaten up, they came to fight and compete on a fair playing field.' -- AFP
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