Complaints of faulty scales mar CWG boxing weigh-in

Mon, Oct 04 10 07:21 PM

New Delhi, Oct 4 (PTI) The official weigh-in ahead of the Commonwealth Games boxing event turned out to be a stormy affair with an angry Australian team claiming that the scales gave faulty readings, a charge refuted by the Technical Delegate overseeing the competition. The two-hour weigh-in held this morning became chaotic after the Aussies raised complaints about the scales being used which, according to them, gave inconsistent readings. "All the coaches, not just Australia, were complaining about the scales. The scale was faulty because it showed one of our boxers overweight by 700gm, he went for a run, came back and found himself 300gm overweight. He went for another run, came back and found himself over one kg overweight. How can that be possible?" Australian Press Attache John Gatfield, who was present at the weigh-in, told PTI. "It started at 8am and by 9am it was clear that the scales were faulty and it was clear to not just Australia but others also including Scotland, Nigeria and England. They were very angry," Gatfield said. Gatfield said with the scales at the venue giving incorrect readings, the boxers had to work out more to make the cut for their respective categories. When contacted, the English team, however, refused to comment on the matter. But the Technical Delegate for the event Ray Silva, who is responsible for conducting the entire exercise, said the weigh-in went off without any glitch. "Everything was OK. Today was not the competition weigh-in. Today was a general weigh-in in which the boxers are put into their respective categories. The competition weigh-in is tomorrow morning when the bouts will start and it is here that the boxers have to weigh according to the category they are in. It is routine stuff," Silva told PTI. The CWG Competition Manager for boxing, Lenny D''Gama said Australians did have some complaints but they have been sorted out. "It''s a problem everytime a boxer goes overweight but they were shown the machines and everything was explained to them and there is no problem now," he said. The Indian boxers chose to remain mum on the matter and none commented on the controversy.

Source: Published>