In a stunning upset at the ZEG Boxing Promotion, India’s Aarti Hooda delivered one of the most remarkable victories in Fiji’s boxing history by defeating WBA’s number two female fighter Ema Nesbit of New Zealand.
However, what should have been a triumphant moment at the Vodafone Arena in Suva on Saturday night quickly turned into controversy and outrage after Hooda’s initial majority split decision win was overturned an hour later to a split draw.
The organisers revealed that one judges had incorrectly tallied their scorecards in favour of Hooda, which led to the original split decision victory being awarded to her.
Nesbit’s team, upon reviewing the scorecards, identified the error and alerted the organisers.
Originally, two judges had scored in favour of Hooda, with the third calling it a draw. Once the mistake was corrected, the final tally showed one judge favouring Hooda, another favouring Nesbit, and the third scoring a draw, resulting in the decision being amended to a split draw.
The reversal of the decision was met with frustration from Hooda and her team.
Unable to contain her emotions when approached for comment, Hooda, through a translator, said tearfully: “I earned that decision and the public was happy with that decision, they were cheering, clapping and happy for my win and how come after an hour somebody comes up and says the decision was not right.”
Vyas Dei Sharma, a major sponsor of Hooda and her Indian teammates through his Khelvin Realtors business, condemned the way the decision was overturned.
“This should have been taken to higher authorities, they have the boxing councils and all these things. You all know the procedure and how it works. You just can’t overturn a decision in an hour or so, this is not right,” he declared.
Sharma assured that he would appeal the decision on behalf of Hooda and her team to ensure justice is served.
“They think that this girl is from India and there is no support for her, no we are here and we are going to take this to court and we will hire the lawyer tomorrow,” he vowed.
Hooda and her Indian colleagues who participated in the ZEG Boxing Promotion are set to return to India today, but Sharma confirmed he will continue to pursue the matter with the relevant local authorities.
