Sumariwala slams AIBA, says it has no power to ban him

Sumariwala said he was not at all concerned with the provisional suspension handed out to him by the AIBA after boxer Sarita Devi refused to accept her bronze medal owing to a controversial semifinal loss at the Incheon Asian Games.‘Who is AIBA to suspend me? I have gone to Incheon Asiad as head of Indian contingent. I had done my duty to help out a boxer in my contingent in my capacity as the head on my country’s contingent,’ Sumariwala, also the president of Athletics Federation of India, said.

‘AIBA has no jurisdiction at all to issue a provisional suspension on me. It was uncalled for,’ he added.Sumariwala wondered the rational behind AIBA’s decision to provisionally suspend him. ‘I want to know my suspension from what, which event or competition. I am not taking part in any boxing competition as an official in future. So, I am not concerned at all about this AIBA suspension.

I have nothing to do with it. I did not speak out earlier because that might have distracted the issue from India’s efforts to revoke Sarita Devi’s suspension. But now I have to speak out,’ he said.

He also said he will not file any reply to AIBA as will have to be done by Sarita and three other boxing coaches. ‘Why should I reply to AIBA? They have not charged me nor they had send anything to me informing about the so-called suspension. IOA is writing to International Olympic Committee and Olympic Council of Asia about this,’ he said.