[Exclusive] "Even I cannot tell who's winning" - Vijender Singh's coach believes the scoring system in boxing needs an overhaul

Have you ever watched an Olympics-style boxing match and been bewildered when the winner was announced? Like you were sure that one player had it in the bag, but it was almost as if the referee was watching a different fight altogether. Don't fret, you're not alone.

Yours truly and his colleagues from Sportskeeda experienced the same bewilderment during the Paris Olympics. It was akin to watching a magic trick, where you're sure you know how it is done, but the reveal leaves you stumped. (Not too dissimilar to how I felt during chemistry lectures in school.) Now, that is a little embarrassing to admit when you cover sports for a living, isn't it? Not really.

Forget us, even Dronacharya Awardee coach Jagdish Singh feels the same. Recently, on the sidelines of the 8th Elite National Women's Boxing Championship, we had an exclusive chat with him about it. The conversation happened right after Monika, one of his disciples, lost her fight. Visibly infuriated by the decisions made by the referee, Jagdish minced no words in expressing his disappointment.

"As you saw in the bout that just finished, if you show it to anyone who understands the sport, they’ll tell you that there is a lot of room for improvement in officiating. It has been poor according to me." he said, "Those who know boxing can see how the referee didn’t stop the player from grappling. Good players are at a loss due to it. So, I want BFI (Boxing Federation of India) to work towards improving the standards of officiating."

Such controversies are not limited to national-level championships. In fact, they are very common in top-flight boxing too. Jagdish Singh, who has nurtured and produced stars like Olympic medalist Vijender Singh and Commonwealth Games champion Nitu Ghanghas, finds it tough to wrap his head around it.

"I will tell you, once at the Talkatora stadium, Vijender (Singh) was in action." narrated Jagdish, "An honourable minister was in attendance. He asked me, 'what is the scoring system?' I told him, 'the scoring system is whoever the judge makes win will win. Whoever they make lose will lose.'"

He continued "The minister said, 'you are a Dronacharya Awardee coach, tell me who will win'. I told him, 'I cannot tell you'. He asked 'Why? What kind of coach you are then?' I said, 'I will tell you blue will win and they will make red win. Blue is landing his punches but they might announce red as the winner.'"

This discombobulation is largely due to the new scoring system which was adopted post the 2012 London Olympics. Earlier, points used to be given in real-time for every punch that the judges deemed valid. Now, under the new 10-point system, each of the five judges declares a winner at the end of the round. Barring any infringements, the winner is given 10 points, not more, not less. The loser gets anywhere between 7 to 9 points based on how one-sided the fight was. In most cases, judges end up giving scores of 10-9.

"The scoring system during that time (in 2008, when Vijender won his Olympic medal) was visual. You got to know (in real time) that this guy scored a point or two points. It was running score. That was good." asserted Jagdish.

"Why is cricket popular? Because it has got everything — decisions, protests, third umpire. You can go through replays, watch again in slow motion. That is the weak point in boxing. IOC is also upset about it, that our scoring system is not transparent." he added.

He believes that World Boxing needs to take a hard look at the current system and alter it to make the sport easier to understand for the viewers.

"Why would someone watch something they don’t understand? We need to think hard about this and bring a change. BFI and World Boxing should make it more transparent. That is what we demand."

"SAI, BFI and Government of India — no one paid any attention to us" - Jagdish Singh

Boxing has consistently produced stars for India. MC Mary Kom, Vijender Singh, Lovlina Borgohain, Hawa Singh, Akhil Kumar and Nikhat Zareen are some who immediately come to mind. Since 2000, only wrestling and shooting have yielded more Olympic medals for the nation. Yet, the sport has not quite been able to capture the mainstream spotlight. It continues to struggle for commercial success.

Jagdish Singh cites the lack of support from concerned authorities. Reminiscing about the glory moments of Vijender Singh's Olympic triumph, he said:-

"That was a wonderful moment. The media gave really good coverage to Olympics sports over cricket. I give the media the biggest credit. They helped our boxing reach the people. (But) why didn’t boxing progress further after that?"

"Out of the five boxers that went to the Olympics that year, four were out of my academy in Bhiwani. But after that, neither the Government of India nor the BFI paid any attention to us. The hype that was created.... Facilities should have been given. I am from Bhiwani. No facilities were given in Bhiwani by Sports Authority of India. The BFI did not give any special attention. Government of India’s demeanor was also not great either. Jo hype bana, wo thanda pad gya. (the hype fizzled out)." said Jagdish with resentment palpable on his face.

The picture has not changed much. Indian Boxing continues to be riddled by a lack of facilities, corruption, and infighting within its administration. Yet, it is due to the passion and determination of players and coaches like Jagdish Singh that the sport continues to be relevant.

Though lately, this relevance was under threat as the IOC considered dropping boxing from the 2028 Los Angeles Olympics. Even now, after it has been finally included, the future post-2028 remains uncertain. However, Jagdish Singh continues to be optimistic.

"We believe the future will be okay." he said, "Boxing is a very old sport. It has been a part of the Olympics since 1904. Almost 200 countries participate in it. It is a popular sport worldwide. So, I hope it will continue to be a part of the Olympics."

Yet, its systematic struggles linger on. The journey of boxing has always been like a rollercoaster with broken tracks — just when you think you're steady, another drop comes. But perhaps, it is the people's love for the sport that, despite all the challenges, continues to have an ardent following.