Vijender Singh won't fight at the London Olympics Games again, he would depart the city without a medal, his path to the semifinals cut short by Uzbekistan's Abbos Atoev in peculiar and controversial circumstances.

Boxing scoring is a mystifying process, and often very often contentious. In a nutshell, for a point to count, three of the five judges must agree instantly that a punch has connected in the designated target, between the stomach and the head. It's highly subjective - an eyewitness's account can and will be coloured if he shares a fighter's nationality.

Let's just look at the indisputable facts.

At 10.07 on Monday night, Vijender Singh, India's boxing superstar, entered the ring for his quarterfinal bout in the middleweight (75kg) category. A win in this bout would have assured Vijender, 26, of at least a bronze medal at London, to go along with the bronze he ended up in Beijing 2008.

His adversary, also 26, is two-time world boxing champion. In the 2007 World Championships, Atoev won the heavyweight (81) division, and dropped down to middleweight and won it in 2009, when he'd beaten Vijender in the semifinals. In their next fight, at the 2010 Asian Games, Vijender won 7-0 in the final. Vijender Singh is six-footer, and an orthodox boxer. Atoev is three inches shorter, and a southpaw. Atoev is a counter-puncher, Vijender more creative.

It was a partisan crowd, Vijender almost being at home; the Uzbeks in the crowd were mostly athletes and officials. The two fighters were very careful to begin with, for each knows well that the other is dangerous. The first round was equal - it was a cagey affair, and each boxer tried to get not too close to the other. With quick feet, the shorter Atoev managed to negate Vijender's advantage in reach. The round was shared 3-3, and it seemed a fair decision.

The second round was rougher - and Vijender seemed to have the better of the exchanges. He was dictating the pace of the bout from the middle, making the Uzbek dance back towards the ropes. Vijender rocked Atoev with a strong left that really shook up the Uzbek, who nearly lost his balance as he went backward. Atoev himself landed several punches on Vijender, including an effective one left-right combination towards the end of the round. It seemed to be Vijender's round by a point or two - or at worst, an equal round again. The five judges, though, awarded the round 7-5 to Atoev, putting him 8-10 behind. There were boos from the partisan crowd. For better objectivity, we turned to the commentary on BBC TV - there they were sputtering, nearly wordless with incredulity over the result of the round.

"Rather incredibly, Vijender finds himself trailing by two," said the commentator.

The boxing expert on air, Richie Woodhall, bronze medallist at Seoul 1988, added that "Atoev was thoroughly shaken up by a wide variety of shots by Vijender Singh", and that "I'm surely amazed by that scoreline."

"I'm amazed! Maybe the judges have pressed the wrong pad, because it should be the other way around," Woodhall went on.

But it was 10-8 to Atoev, the Indian was behind on points and had to change his tactics - he had to take risks, attack all the time, try to find that big punch, that big combination. But he failed. Atoev is a very fine defensive pugilist, and he managed to back away and then sting Vijender several times when the Indian had both fists away from his face. It was clearly Atoev's round. The referee raised Atoev's hand as victor, 17-13 on points.

"It wouldn't be justice... Vijender has won this contest," raged Woodhall. "I do believe that Vijender has won this contest." As the crowd booed, Woodhall said: "I agree with the crowd, he's a very lucky man indeed, Atoev."

In the "mixed zone" area where media meets boxers, before anyone was seen there came shouts of "it's a mafia, it's a mafia". It was Blas Iglesias Fernandes, the Cuban coach of the Indian boxers. He went on shouting this as he emerged from the middle of the arena and went to the area reserved for sportspersons and staff.

London, August 7
India's star boxer Vijender Singh, whose dream of bagging back-to-back Olympic medals has come crashing down, is planning to change his weight category to light heavy (81 kg) in a bid to win more medals for the country in the mega event.

The Beijing Games bronze medallist currently takes part in the 75 kg category and his decision to move to fight in a heavier category was a "tactical one".

"I have been fighting in 75 kg for the last six years or so. I will now shift to 81 kg and I hope I will be able to perform well in this new category. I hope to do well for India in this category and look to take part in the next Olympics, Vijender said.

On his last night's bout against Uzbekistan's Abbos Atoev in the quarterfinals, which he lost 13-17, Vijender said, "I gave 100 per cent but it was bad luck that I could not win." "I gave it all but could not win. He is a very good boxer. I did make some mistakes which cost me. But in sport, it happens. You win some, you lose some," he said.

"If I get a chance to meet him again, I will try not to make the same mistakes. As a boxer, you learn from every bout and you should not repeat the same mistakes," he pointed out.

Vijender, a former world number one, said he pulled his back muscle in the second round and that hampered his movement to some extent.

"I pulled my back muscle in the second round. It will be ok soon, I will take treatment for that and it should be alright," he said.

The 26-year-old Vijender fought gallantly but was found wanting against his strong Uzbek opponent who carved out a 17-13 victory in a nerve-wracking contest.

M C Mary Kom (women's 51 kg), who has assured herself at least a bronze medal, and Devendro Singh (49 kg) are the two Indian pugilists who are still in the fray. Both will be seen in action tomorrow. — PTI

London, August 7
The spotlight will be on the diminutive M C Mary Kom as she attempts to create history by becoming the first Indian to reach the final of the boxing event of Olympic Games when she takes on Nicola Adams of Great Britain in what promises to be a high-voltage contest, tomorrow.

The five-time world champion Mary has already assured at least a bronze medal for India, which means that the country has recorded its best-ever medal haul in the mega event.

India has already won one silver, two bronze and assured of a bronze, which is better than the one gold and two bronze medals they won in the Beijing Games four years ago.

The only other Indian pugilist who has kept himself in the medal hunt is Devendro Singh who will clash with Paddy Barnes of Ireland in the men's fly weight (49 kg) category at the ExCel Arena tomorrow.

Interestingly, both Mary and Devendro hail from Manipur and know each other well and it would be a huge fillip to the sport in the strife-torn state if they progress further in the event.

Women's boxing has been introduced for the first time in the Olympics and Mary, who has always taken part in the 48 kg category where she has excelled, had to increase her body weight to be eligible to take part in the 51 kg category in the Olympic Games.

As she herself disclosed, she has trained with taller and stronger boys in the build up to the Olympics to be able to counter her opponents in the event, marred by several controversies and dubious judgements. The Indian pugilists have often being in the receiving end of the debatable judgements and some of their appeals have been rejected by the authorities.

Vikas Krishan had the misfortune of seeing his result being overturned in favour of his American opponent Errol Spence after he was given four penalties in a controversial bout. Krishan won the bout but later the American was adjudged the victor much to the dismay of the Indian contingent.

There were many other bouts where the Indians felt that the scoring did not go in their favour and even Vijender Singh, the bronze medallist in the Beijing Games, was unlucky in his quarter-final contest against Abbos Atoev of Uzbekistan which he lost 17-13. The Indians have got tremendous support from the crowd but it will be clearly divided when she takes the British boxer who will have support from the home crowd.

Mary has had no major threat in her passage to the semi-final so far. She beat Karolina Michalczuk of Poland in the pre-quarter final with a 19-14 verdict and then prevailed of Maroua Rahali of Tunisia 16-5 in the quarter finals to assure herself a bronze medal.

But her biggest challenge will come tomorrow against the British boxer and it remains to be seen whether she can overcome the obstacle and go on to win a historic gold medal for the country. — PTI

Indian hockey needs to pick up the pieces, be strong and work harder than ever before. The problem is that the pieces are so tiny, they're barely visible to the naked eye. It would take very, very long to pick them all up. The disintegration of Indian hockey is complete. Remember Namibia or Bermuda at the cricket World Cup? Yes, that's what we are in world hockey now - that loathsome term 'minnow' can now be safely applied to the Indian hockey team.

India lost their last group match 0-3 to Belgium today - five defeats in five matches at the Olympics is an unprecedented low for India. India is the sole team among the 12 in the draw here to end up without a single point. In their five matches, India have conceded 18 goals and scored just six. The team will now compete for the 11th spot. Is this less or more painful than not even qualifying, as happened for the Beijing Olympics?

India has made many rapid strides under coach Michael Nobbs over the last one year - what happened here is quite inexplicable, for the team isn't as bad as this. They had, in fact, made a very promising beginning, fighting top team Netherlands hard in a 2-3 loss. Then it all went horribly wrong. They were outplayed in attack, defence and finishing by everyone.

That this happened against the supposedly weakest team in the group, Belgium, may come a surprise, but it's clear that it's a broken team, physically and mentally crushed. The Belgians were quick and cohesive and combined well; the Indians seemed to play with neither plan nor purpose.

There were moments when India seemed dominant, even close to scoring, but the forward line was off-colour and the Belgian defence strong; their goalkeeper Vincent Vanasch was in excellent form, nipping Indian hopes at the goalmouth on several occasions.

The Belgians were quick on the counter, going through the Indian defence with ease. The Indians were outplayed in the field, as is confirmed by the fact that all three Belgian strikes were field goals. Jerome Dekeyser put his team ahead in the 15th minute when, after a move through the Indian defence, he put the ball in from the top of the circle. India got back into the game later in the first half but failed to equalise. Their only penalty corner of the half, in the 21st minute, was not taken by Sandeep Singh - it was an indirect attempt, but the deflection by Gurbaj Singh went out. Thereafter, India made strong attempts through Tushar Khandker, SV Sunil and Shivendra Singh, but goalkeeper Vanasch was unshakeable at the goal. India continued to attack but their finishing was bad - this is a very, very old complaint now.

After the break, Sandeep did get a crack at the goal through a penalty corner in the 39th minute but Vanasch was not to be beaten today - with lightning reflexes, he stopped the drag-flick. Gautier Boccard scored the second goal 47th minute against the run of play, and there was no way back for India from here.

The Indians attacked desperately, created space and opportunities on a few occasions but failed to score. The Belgians did, in the final stages of the match when Tom Boon beat Indian goalkeeper Bharat Chetri with a powerful reverse-flick in the 67th minute.

Hyderabad, August 7
Indian shuttle queen Saina Nehwal returned here to a rousing welcome after her historic exploits in the Olympic Games and said though it was her dream to win a gold she was happy to come back with a bronze.

"It's just unbelievable, I am speechless. I am happy that I actually did what I promised and believed in. It is a dream to win gold, but I am happy that at least I have a bronze and am the first Indian to win a badminton Olympic medal," Saina, flanked by her coach Pullela Gpichand and father Harvir, said at a press conference after arriving from London.

However, the 22-year-old badminton star promised that she would not rest on her laurels and strive to bring home more and more medals in the future.

"When I was standing on podium, I started crying, I thought of all the hard work I have put in all these years. It gave me inspiration. It's just the beginning and I will win many more medals," she said.

Asked how it feels, having an historic Olympic medal around her neck, she said,"From outside, I am normal and Gopi sir is normal but inside I am jumping with joy."

Saina also did not forget to mention about the people, who have all contributed in her success story.

"I was an ordinary girl but because of many people, I am a champion today. First I want to thank Gopi sir, then my dad, without whom I am nothing. The co-players who have played with me and all those who congratulated me." She said she has promised Prime Minister Manmohan Singh that next time she would return with a gold medal. "PM Sir and Sonia (Gandhi) Madam also congratulated me. He said, 'We expected gold but happy that you won bronze.' I promised him that I will go for it (gold)," said Saina.

Saina said she has made a lot of sacrifices but the result of all the hard work is much bigger.

"There is nothing bigger than standing on podium with an Olympic medal. That's life for me," she said while responding to a question as to how she plans to compensate all the sacrifices she has made to reach this stage of her career.

Asked how she looked at her future, she said,"It depends how you progress. I played a 33-years old (Tine Baun of Denmark) in London (in the quarter finals). As long as I am winning, I will continue." Although the game of badminton brought only one medal from the London Games, Saina said that the Indian players are fast becoming a force to reckon with.

"Last time (Beijing Games) I played in the quarter-finals, this time I have a bronze. Kashyap played in the quarter-finals, Jwala and D Viju played good matches. I think the team is getting strong for the next Olympics," she said. — PTI

Yohan Blake, the 100m world champion, is the closest to Usain Bolt the world has seen in a while. But missing out on Gold in London has made him even more determined. As Blake gears up for the 200m event, he talks about Bolt, the 100m race and much more in an exclusive interview.

How do you manage your expectations for the relay now that Bolt and you have won gold and silver in the 100m?

We are a fast nation, Jamaica. We have four of the fastest men in the world. And I know it's going to be an interesting relay - the Americans want to come back. [something about dominance].

How would you assess your race technically?

Technically I think I lose my race at the last part of the 10m, where I tend to buck a bit. But, over 200m with more endurance and speed, it's going to be an interesting one.

Is it possible to beat Bolt?

A. Anything is possible. In the 100m I just lost my footing at the last part of the race, and he has been great. But anything can happen.

When will you beat able to beat Bolt?

I'm not really focused on beating him. I just want to do some technical work and improve because I know anything can happen on the day. I know I can go faster than I did in the 100m. Each time I get faster and faster and I think it can be done.

What do you do after a big race?

I go into my room, thank God and talk to my family.

How great is Bolt?

He's great. He's a wonderful training partner. He motivated me before the race and said 'you can do this also'. He encouraged me a lot. He's just been great.

Is he a legend yet?

Not yet. He has the 200m - after the 200m, if he wins he will be the legend.

Is Gatlin a danger in 200m?

I didn't want to worry about Gatlin. We know what we can do. He's good, and he was running good, so got to give him his credit.

What does it mean to Jamaica to have all these medals and a new Olympic record at the time of the country's 50th anniversary of independence?

I think Jamaica is going crazy. It's crazy for me, but I have to keep calm. Tonight was just an amazing night - seven guys under ten seconds, is just incredible.

Can you get another clean-sweep of the men's and women's sprint medals?

Yeah, of course. We just have to keep running fast and stay in front! — PMG

London, August 7
Usain Bolt began his bid to complete an unprecedented Olympic sprint double-double with an "easy run" to breeze through his opening 200 metres heat with minimum fuss on Tuesday.

Less than 48 hours after retaining his 100 crown in scintillating style, the Jamaican eased into Wednesday's semifinals of his favourite event by winning the opening heat in a pedestrian 20.39 seconds.

The world's fastest man, hot favourite to follow up his Beijing 200 title and secure gold medals in both the 100 and 200 at successive Games, expended less energy than he does in training, sauntering around the bend before easing up in the home straight.

"Got to take it easy...that was an easy run," he told reporters. "I am enjoying it. This is my favourite event so I am looking forward to it."

Bolt said his celebrations at scorching to 100 gold in 9.63 seconds, the second fastest time ever, were fairly muted. "Nothing. I sat up and chilled," said the 200 world record holder who also has the fastest ever 100 time of 9.58 seconds. "I am full of energy. Some friends and I sat and talked."

Bolt's chief rival for gold, compatriot and training partner Yohan Blake, also eased through in 20.38. "I'm feeling good, that's why they call me The Beast. The track is fast," said Blake.

American Wallace Spearmon, who finished third in Beijing but was then disqualified for stepping out of his lane, progressed along with Frenchman Christophe Lemaitre who carries Europe's outside hopes of a medal. — Reuters

"People think I am joking, but if Sir Alex Ferguson called me up and said 'Okay, let's do this. Come and have a trial', it would be impossible for me to say no," The Daily Mirror quoted Bolt, as saying. "I would not take up the challenge if I didn't think I was good enough. I am a very accomplished player and I know I could make a difference. I would be the fastest player in the team - but I can play as well," he added. — ANI

London, August 7
American Jennifer Suhr spoiled the script by winning gold in the women's pole vault at the Olympic stadium on Monday and denying Yelena Isinbayeva her third successive title.

Jennifer Suhr clears 4.75m to win gold on Tuesday

Suhr, silver medallist behind the Russian world record holder in Beijing four years ago, cleared 4.75 for victory on a damp, breezy conditions that made vaulting tricky.

“To have someone so good in the field and come out on top it really is an honour and it is a special title in that situation,” an emotional Suhr said.

Cuba's Yarisley Silva took the silver with the same height on countback after missing the first attempt at her opening height of 4.45 and Isinbayeva had to settle for bronze with a best of 4.70.

The 30-year-old had set world records in her previous Olympic finals but she lacked authority in the breezy, rain-affected event, failing the first attempt at her opening height of 4.55. Isinbayeva then opted to go straight to 4.65 and when she sailed over bar, relief was clear on her face.

The former world champion, who told reporters her build-up to the Games had been disrupted in May by a torn thigh muscle put her result down to bad luck.

"It is unbelievable. Many girls did not make any qualification height. So it was terrible weather. It was terrible. “I knew the results were not going to be so high here. To win was the lucky girl. So tonight I was just unlucky."

After Isinbayeva hit the crash mat for the last time having knocked the bar off with her thigh, she got up with a big smile on her face, waved to the crowd and blew a kiss to the camera. When asked how disappointed she was with her performance Isinbayeva shouted: "What? I'm, so happy that I won the bronze medal." Suhr, who is coached by her husband Rick, coped better with the conditions and piled on the pressure, needing just one vault at each of her heights until 4.75 which she cleared second time. — Reuters

London, August 7
World champions Australia outplayed Pakistan 7-0 today to ease their passage into the semifinals of Olympic Games men's hockey competition, while The Netherlands also stormed into last four stage with an all-win record after spiking South Korea 4-2.

The Australian victory dashed Pakistan's hopes of making the semi-final after 12 years, while the second semi-final spot from the Group A still has two contenders in hosts Great Britain and 2008 silver medallists Spain, who clash later day.

The winner of the Great Britain-Spain encounter will be the other semi-finalist from the group, while a draw will take the home team ahead. Australia, who were held to two draws in the preliminary league by Argentina and Great Britain, finished with 11 points from five matches and the runaway triumph almost assured of the top spot in pool.

Hosts Great Britain can catch up with Australia on points if they beat Spain, but Australia now have a 12 goal advantage over Great Britain on goal-difference and even an injury-hit Spanish side can prove a tough side to outplay by such a huge margin. Christopher Ciriello scored twice in Australia's goal fest that left the Pakistan defenders stunned. Ciriello came into frame after Liam de Young opened Australian account with a corner conversion in the second minute and Mark Knowles placed a penalty stroke past Pakistan goalkeeper Imran Shah a minute later. — Reuters

London, August 7
Alistair Brownlee became the first Briton to win a medal in an Olympic triathlon when he took gold with an emphatic front-running display around Hyde Park in central London on Tuesday.

Brownlee, 24, became the 19th British gold medallist of the London Olympics, matching the gold tally won by the team at the Beijing Games four years ago.

His younger brother Jonathan completed another piece of Olympic history when he finished third despite incurring a 15-second penalty for a rule infringement. He ended the race collapsed in a heap and needing lengthy medical treatment.

The Brownlees, who were split at the finish by former world champion Javier Gomez of Spain, are the first siblings to feature on the Olympic medal podium together in an individual event in more than 50 years.

"I was just so excited to get out and race and obviously I got the result I wanted," Alistair told reporters before the medal ceremony that was delayed for more than 30 minutes as his brother received treatment for exhaustion.

"We knew he had a penalty early on in the bike and I was just telling Jonny, don't worry about it, calm down, you can still easily get on the podium with a 15-second penalty.

"I took the first lap of the run out really hard to try and get Jonny as far away from the others as he can and hopefully Gomez. Gomez was having a great race today and so there was not much we could do about that."

Alistair had built a comfortable lead in the second half of the 10km run, featuring four loops around a park packed with thousands of fans enjoying one of the free events at the Games. He was roared home and had enough of a margin to drape a Union Flag over his shoulders and walk over the line for a winning time of one hour 46 minutes and 25 seconds, looking back to see where his brother was.

Gomez, who had finished fourth in Beijing four years ago, clocked 1:46:36, with Jonathan a further 20 seconds back. First out of the water after 17 minutes 36 seconds was Gomez at the head of a group of five that included both Brownlees. — Reuters

Yaounde, August 7
Seven Cameroon athletes have disappeared while in Britain for Olympics, the Ministry of Sports and Physical Education said on Monday evening.

The seven-five boxers, a swimmer and a soccer player-are suspected of having left to stay in Europe for economic reasons. What began as rumour has finally turned out to be true, an official said. — Reuters 

Former Olympic gold medallist China's Liu Xiang (L) falls while competing in the men's 110m hurdles heats on Tuesday. — AFP

London, August 7
Liu Xiang's bid to banish his Beijing Olympics nightmare ended in disaster here today as the Chinese athletics icon crashed out of the 110m hurdles when he smashed into the first obstable. The 29-year-old former world record holder -- winner of the 2004 Olympic crown -- had been left distraught four years ago after he was forced to withdraw just moments before his opening race in front of his home fans.

But his return to the Olympic arena today lasted only a split second when he ploughed into the first hurdle with his left leading leg and crashed heavily to the floor.

Liu - who has been troubled by back and foot problems in the past month - eventually got up and hopped down the track to be embraced by his fellow competitors. He was helped off the track by Britain's Andy Turner and Spain's Jackson Quinonez and then taken away from the arena in a wheelchair and then to the medical centre.

Fellow competitor Balazs Baji of Hungary had waited for Liu at the finish line, taking the Chinese star's hand in his.

"When I was a kid I saw him breaking a world record, winning the Olympic Games in Athens so he's a great idol for me. I'm sorry that he fell. It must be really bad for him," he said. "Since he fell I'm just sorry for him." American Aries Merritt, the leading hurdler this season, said he felt sorry for Liu but didn't see anything untoward about him physically at the warm-up.

"It was just terrible. For that to happen to one of the best hurdlers of all time is just a tragedy and I hope he's OK," said Merritt, whose achievement in running the fastest ever Olympic heat of 13.07 was overshadowed by Liu's distress. "He looked fine before the race, like nothing was wrong with him. He warmed up great. He always has a good warm-up and he was happy and so I don't think anything was wrong with him going into the race.

"I just think he made a small, little mistake, like he ran up on the hurdles a little bit too quickly and he wasn't prepared to take the hurdle at such velocity and he hit it and if you hit a hurdle in the fashion that he hit it there's no way to recover from something like that." Liu's dream of winning gold in front of his home crowd at the Beijing Olympics in 2008 ended in one of the great Olympic anti-climaxes as he turned up for his heat but failed to clear a hurdle, clearly hindered by his Achilles tendon injury.

His career has been hampered by injuries ever since he took gold and equalled the then world record held by Colin Jackson of 12.91 seconds at Athens in 2004. He was to go on and better it with a time of 12.88 seconds and also win a world title in 2007 but a succession of injuries have taken their toll.

However, he showed the old spark in the world championships last year and was flying when he was twice hindered by 2008 Olympic champion Dayron Robles and ended up third only to be promoted to second when the Cuban was disqualified from top spot. — AFP

olympics briefs

Archers need psychologist: Talukdar

Jamshedpur: The much-hyped Indian archers were not mentally tough to handle the Olympics pressure and they badly need the services of a sports psycholigist to get the confidence back, Jayanta Talukdar said today. All the Indian archers, including Talukdar and big medal hope Deepika Kumari, had fizzled out at the early stage of the competition in London. "We need a psychologist and a physiotherapist urgently to enhance our confidence as well as mental toughness to face the level of competition in Olympics." 22-year-old Talukdar, who was the first archer to qualify for the London Olympics, said he had to browse the internet to seek tips of psychologists, which he applied to enhance his confidence level. Talukdar said he will be focusing on the next Olympics from now and strive to address all shortfalls. — PTI

I would have felt incomplete without Saina's medal: Gopichand

Hyderabad: Describing Saina Nehwal as a 'phenomenal', her coach Pullela Gopichand today said if Saina had not won the Olympic medal, his life would have been incomplete. Saina and Gopichand returned here from London to a warm welcome. "Without this medal, I would have felt incomplete. What more I can say," Gopichand said at a packed press conference sitting beside Saina. "I had dreamt that one day, we will bring an Olympic medal. All my goals have been fulfilled. But it was a real challenge. There have been a lot of ups and downs in the last year. Saina had lost to 11 different players. "When she lost the Denmark event, she came to me weeping and said 'Bhaiya it's not happening.' She was weeping and I also started crying. But I told her "We will win Olympic medal," Gopi said revealing what they went through before success came calling. Gopichand also spoke about hard training they put in top make dream a reality. — PTI