Woman boxer l Sarita Devi was on Wednesday handed a one-year ban by the International Boxing Association (AIBA) for refusing to accept her bronze medal at the Asian Games but the punishment is unlikely to hurt her career too badly as she would be available to compete in the 2016 Olympic qualifiers.
Sarita has been banned retrospectively from October 1, 2014 to October 1, 2015 and fined 1,000 Swiss francs. Although her repeated apologies failed in getting her AIBA’s pardon, even this ban is quite a relief for the lightweight (60kg) boxer, who is currently nursing a broken right wrist.
“I am hugely relieved and would like to thank the boxing fraternity and Boxing India for helping me sail through the difficult times. I will now be able to participate in the Olympic Games and work harder to bring laurels for the country,” Sarita said.