New Delhi: Considered the best bet for a boxing gold in the Commonwealth Games, world number one Vijender Singh on Wednesday said he never thought he would have to settle for bronze due to "unfair" refereeing, which could have been prevented had the Indian federation been "proactive".
Vijender lost 3-4 to England's Anthony Ogogo in the semifinals after being handed twin warnings - first for hitting his rival on the back of his head and the second for holding him towards the closing stages of the bout.
The Indian team protested against the referee's decisions but it was turned down by the International Boxing Association jury which reviewed the bout.
"I never thought I would have to settle for bronze; I was playing for gold. I was 3-0 ahead but the bout was won by a boxer who did not get a single scoring punch," the 24-year-old Olympic and World Championship medallist said in a press conference here.
"I feel unlucky to get a bronze. After the bout, I was completely out of my mind and shocked to lose. I agree that I clinched him but so did he; he should also have been warned," the Haryana-lad said.
Vijender said the protest that was lodged after his bout should have come when other Indians such as Dinesh Kumar (81kg) and Manpreet Singh (91kg) lost close quarterfinal bouts.
"When these guys lost close bouts, the Federation should have lodged a protest because in Dinesh's case, his rival got a point in the final two seconds of the bout while Manpreet was given two warnings. No one said anything and the protest came only when I lost. It would have been better to protest when these guys lost. The federation should have been proactive," he said.
"I don't know why it took them so long to protest. If there had been a protest, then there would have been pressure on the referees and judges to act fairly," he added.
Vijender said he also found the scoring to be quite complicated. "Some bouts were high-scoring, some were not. It took us some time to understand the system," he said.
But Vijender has come to terms with the loss and is now looking ahead to the November 12 to 27 Asian Games in China.
"I am over it now. I have learnt my lesson. I would not clinch my rivals again. But I think the referee was unfair to me," he said.
"I had worked hard for these Games and all is not lost, I have got a medal. One loss cannot take away everything. I will try again and looking forward to the Asian Games next month," said the boxer who will take a short break to spend some time with his family before hitting the ring once again for training.
"It's my body, not a machine. Sometimes it performs to expectations, sometimes it doesn't. What to do! It's just a bronze in my destiny," he quipped when asked why has it been just bronze for him in major events.
Talking about the Asian Games, Vijender said with the competition expected to be tougher due to the presence of traditional powerhouses such as Kazakhstan and Uzbekistan, the Indians would have to sharpen their footwork.
"The competition at the Asian Games would be slightly different because the former parts of Soviet Union will be there. We will have to work on our footwork to do well there," he said.
The dashing boxer was, however, non-committal about participating in the World Series of Boxing scheduled to start from November 19 next month.
"I am not even thinking about it right now. My focus is Asian Games. Let's see," he said.
The Indian franchise for the WSB has suffered a massive blow after Videocon pulled out as the main sponsor. The Indian Federation is looking for a new sponsor.
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