Boxers grow wary of judgment calls

Close fights and narrow decisions produced a wealth of righteous indignation at Workers' Gymnasium in Beijing, where a Russian world champion and a serious American medal contender both felt wronged by the subjective calls of the button-pressing men who judge their punches.

Sergey Vodopyanov, the world champion bantamweight, was edged by India's Akhil Kumar on total punches in a fight that ended 9-all. Raynell Williams fell behind early and never caught up to France's Khedafi Djelkhir.

Vodopyanov held his head in his hands when his verdict was announced, and he angrily stalked out of the ring after leaving powerhouse Russia with just five fighters left in the Games. Williams, the soft-spoken featherweight who seemed to be in prime position for a US medal, was more eloquent in his disappointment with the judges.

"I felt like I was moving great, getting my punches off, but I guess some of the judges thought otherwise," said Williams, whose defeat leaves just four US boxers in the field. "I felt like I was throwing a lot, but I guess they didn't count for a lot."

The complaints about judging have essentially scuttled any good feelings about boxing created by the International Boxing Association's 18 months of reform and transparency under a new administration.

The executive supervising the Olympic boxing competition said he sees no serious problems with the judging in Beijing despite widespread complaints from athletes and coaches, particularly those who have fought Chinese boxers.

Terry Smith, the technical delegate from the AIBA, emphasized the subjective nature of boxing's electronic scoring system when addressing the frustration and disappointment of Olympic fighters who have ripped the Beijing judging.

"I'm always aware of criticism," Smith said. "I don't think we've ever run a major tournament in our lives without picking up criticism."

China's surprising team has six boxers still in the tournament.

Russian resolution

The International Olympic Committee should punish Russia by moving the 2014 Winter Olympics out of Sochi, Russia, the cochairs of the congressional House Georgia Caucus said.

Representatives Allyson Schwartz and Bill Shuster of Pennsylvania said in a joint statement they plan to file a resolution declaring that Russia's movement of troops into Georgia on the eve of the Beijing Olympics makes it an unacceptable country to host the Games.

"It is practically and financially untenable to hold the 2014 Winter Olympic Games less than 20 miles from a zone of conflict," according to a draft of the resolution.

Sochi was selected last summer as the location for the 2014 Olympics.

Nothing but blue skies

Pollution concerns evaporated yesterday under a picture-perfect canopy of blue skies and white clouds on the first day of the signature track and field events in Beijing.

Heavy showers that drenched the city Thursday cleared away much of the pollution, giving Beijing its first genuinely sunny day since the opening ceremony kicked off a week ago. Temperatures hovered around a comfortable 82 degrees.

In a major bid to clear up the skies, city officials shut down scores of factories, stopped all construction, and removed 2 million vehicles from the roads for a two-month period.

Age is just a number

US gymnast Nastia Liukin's father and coach, Valeri Liukin, said the international gymnastics federation would be wise to eliminate the age rule that requires gymnasts to be at least 16 or turn 16 during the year they compete in the Olympics and world championships. The issue has been in the forefront of gymnastics discussion because of some evidence that three of the girls on the gold medal Chinese team may be too young to compete. "Let everybody compete and be fair," Valeri Liukin said. "That's the best way." . . . Bulgarian middle-distance runner Daniela Yordanova has tested positive for testosterone and will not compete. Team spokesman Todor Shabanski said the 1,500-meter runner was on the verge of flying to Beijing but stayed behind after the result became known . . . Disgraced former Olympic sprinter Ben Johnson, 46, plans to sue his former lawyer's estate for $37 million, alleging that Edward Futerman took advantage of his "diminished mental capacities." Johnson filed a notice of motion with the Ontario Superior Court of Justice in Toronto. Johnson won the gold medal in the 100 meters at the 1988 Seoul Olympics, only to be disqualified days later after failing a drug test.