CHENNAI: Vikas Krishan’s fate hangs in the balance. The 2011 World Championship bronze medallist had a smooth run inside the ring until the semifinals of the recently concluded Asian Boxing Championship. A bizarre call to skip the last-four bout raised eyebrows. The motive behind his move still remains a mystery. To find out the reasons behind Vikas’ walkover against Korea’s Lee Dongyun in Tashkent, the Boxing Federation of India (BFI) has appointed a three-member disciplinary committee to hear the Haryana boxer. The committee meets on May 20 in New Delhi.
“We wanted to know what exactly prompted him to take that decision. He has given his reasons. We wanted an independent inquiry and recommendations regarding the case,” Jay Kowli, BFI secretary, told Express on Saturday. K owli revealed that the middleweight glovesman (75kg) — who secured a World Championship berth after reaching the semifinals — has already presented his side to the federation and will be free to compete, if the disciplinary committee finds him innocent. “If he is found to be clean, he need not worry. He will be allowed to take part in future competitions.”
A sit Banerjee, West Bengal State Boxing Association chief, is heading the disciplinary panel. Rajesh Bhandari (Himachal Pradesh State Boxing Association president) and Nirwan Mukherjee (Uttarakhand Boxing Association president) will assist Banerjee. Given the significance of the matter, Banerjee said the committee will leave no stone unturned to arrive at a fair verdict. “We will appoint a sports lawyer for the case. We intend to come to the conclusion at the earliest. I will be reaching New Delhi on May 19 and we will start our job next day,” he said.
“We have requested all concerned to hand over recommendations/documents. On the basis of these, we shall conduct the hearing and pass on the verdict.” The case has already thwarted the two-time Olympian’s plans of competing in the World Series of Boxing (WSB) — a semi-professional event approved by the International Amateur Boxing Association (AI BA). Vikas was one of the three Indian boxers roped in recently by the Britain-based franchise British Lionhearts, along with Manoj Kumar and K Shyam Kumar. The Lionhearts were due to face France Fighting Roosters in the quarterfinals in Paris on May 11, before Vikas’ incident on May 5. The return leg will be in London on May 20.
anmol@newindianexpress.com