Controversy erupts at National Boxing Championships Over Disqualification and Judging

The ongoing National Boxing Championships in India have been marred by controversy, prompting a review by the Boxing Federation of India (BFI) following the disqualification of Olympian Ashish Chaudhary and concerns raised about judging accuracy. The incidents have sparked protests and questions regarding the qualifications of officiating technical officials.

Olympian Ashish Chaudhary’s Disqualification

Ashish Chaudhary, a 2019 Asian Championships silver medalist, was disqualified from his opening-round bout in the men’s 80kg category on Monday after being ruled to have intentionally clashed heads with Haryana’s Rupesh.The incident resulted in a cut to Rupesh, leading to the disqualification. Initially, the referee deemed the clash accidental, administering a standing count to rupesh and calling for medical attention. though, after consulting with the Technical Delegate, the decision was reversed.

chaudhary vehemently contested the decision, stating the head clash was unintentional.”Whoever is seeing the video is agreeing that it was in the moment I have not purposefully hit him with me head. I was moving out after leaning to hit him and his head made contact.Is this how you treat an Olympian?” he questioned.

the Himachal pradesh Boxing Association (HPBA) also voiced strong objections, asserting the referee initially signaled the incident as accidental. HPBA President and BFI Vice President Rajesh Bhandari stated, “We strongly condemn and protest this. If you see the video, the referee has signalled that it was accidental and not intentional.”

BFI Response and Review

In response to the controversy, the BFI initiated a review of the incident and temporarily removed the referee from duty for one day.BFI Executive Director col.Arun Malik explained, “We asked the Technical Delegate to look into it and he said since we are investigating the facts of what happened for that particular time we will not give any duty to the referee. The referee has been put back on roster.”

Though, the Technical Delegate’s report ultimately supported the referee’s decision, stating it was made in accordance with World Boxing rules and regulations.

Concerns Over Technical official Qualifications

The incident has raised questions about the qualifications of the Technical Official involved, Narendra Nirwan. An anonymous official within the boxing fraternity questioned his credentials, stating, “Narendra Nirwan is not himself a qualified Technical Official. He should not be sitting ther in the first place. How is he making these calls?”

Doubts Raised About Judging in Lovlina-Saweety Bout

Further fueling the controversy, former world champion saweety boora expressed concerns about the judging in her close bout against Tokyo Olympic bronze medalist Lovlina Borgohain. Saweety,who led 4-1 in the first round,ultimately lost the bout 2-3.

Saweety stated, “I was landing counting punches. According to me, the game should have ended in the first round itself after giving Lovlina three counts. But it went to three rounds. Sometimes there is pressure on referee judges as well when two good players are fighting each other. When there is an medallist in question.” She added, “I thought I’ll get a 5-0 decision in my favour but it didn’t happen. She was not able to land any punches in the target area. Till you don’t give players a chance how will you get more medallist?”

Video Removal and Ongoing Scrutiny

Adding to the opacity of the situation, the BFI removed the video of the Ashish Chaudhary-Rupesh bout from its YouTube page. This action has further intensified scrutiny of the officiating and decision-making processes at the National Boxing Championships.

Published on jan 06,2026