India’s hopes of boxer Vikas Krishan being restored to the Olympic Games competition after he was controversially eliminated on a protest by his American opponent were dashed when the Court of Arbitration for Sports rejected the country’s appeal on Monday.
The world’s top sports tribunal ruled that the appeal was not maintainable as there was no provision to contest the decision of AIBA’s Competition Jury, which it said was the final authority for any disputes.
“There is no provision in the AIBA Technical and Competition Rules allowing for an appeal against the decision of the Competition Jury in relation to a protest. The decision of the Competition Jury is final and cannot be appealed,” the CAS said in a statement.
“For this reason, your appeal letter cannot be considered and the Appeal Letter is hereby returned to you,” the statement added.
Acting Chef-de-Mission of the Indian contingent Muralidharan Raja said India would not pursue the matter any further.
Krishan was ousted from the games after AIBA overturned the result of his 69kg pre-quarterfinal bout against American Errol Spence following a review. The Indian had been declared winner by a 13-11 verdict Aug. 3.
The 20-year-old had been declared the winner but following an appeal by his rival’s team management, the AIBA awarded the bout 15-13 to the American citing fouls committed by the Indian that were not noticed by the referee.