London Olympics 2012 Boxing
Boxer Manoj Kumar calls it a case of "cheating"Reuters

Indian boxer Manoj Kumar claimed foul play after losing to Briton Thomas Stalker in men's light welter weight 64 kg category at the London Olympics on Saturday.

The 2010 Commonwealth Games gold medalist alleged that his 16-20 knock-out in the pre-quarterfinals bout was as a controversial score based on a biased decision.

"It doesn't look fair because he was going in one direction and the scores 7-4 and 9-4 to him don't justify that," the 25-year-old boxer said according to the Press Trust of India.

"It doesn't look like an Olympic Games but more like a district competition because if it's Great Britain in the ring it doesn't matter who's against them. It's like a district competition where there's lots of cheating, cheating, cheating," he added.

Kumar's defeat came about as Stalker won the second round by 9-5 after a leading 7-4 score in the first bout. That the Briton was a better fighter is being questioned, with one of the ringside judges giving Kumar a score of 7-5.

His overthrow from the ring cost Kumar his chance of winning the bronze medal at the Olympics, but pushed number three seed Stalker into a the quarter-finals against Mongolia's Uranchimeg Munkh-erden on Wednesday.

When asked about his thoughts on the said controversial score, 28-year old Stalker, who previously beat Kumar in the World Championships last year, told reporters, "In amateur boxing it happens all the time. I've had fights where I've thought I've won by more points that I have. It's just boxing, I just leave it to the judges."

Kumar's fall at the Olympics came right after India lost victory to American welterweight Errol Spence, even after Vikas Krishan won the bout 13-11. The decision to designate Spence as the victor was based on a video review, allowing the jury to award the American with additional points following fouls committed by Krishan.

India has issued a complaint with the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS), appealing for a change in change.  

"India's stance was that the fouls committed by Errol Spence in round two and three were not considered by AIBA," Indian team's acting chef de mission PKM Raja said according to Reuters.

The jury's scores in amateur boxing was always a controversial topic. South Korean light-flyweight Shin Jong-hun, another Olympian hope,  was left shocked in the ring, after losing 15-14 in a third-round rally against Bulgaria's Aleksandrar Aleksandrov on Saturday.

(With inputs from Reuters)