By Sudipto Ganguly
TOKYO, Jul 27 (Reuters) – New Zealand boxer David Nyika had little trouble Tuesday in his 5-0 win against Youness Baalla in his Olympic debut in the heavyweight category, beyond a bite attempt from his Moroccan opponent. .
The boxing task force, charged with running the competition in Tokyo in place of the suspended International Boxing Association, said Baalla was disqualified after the fight for unsportsmanlike behavior.
Nyika, a two-time gold medalist at the Commonwealth Games, had won the first two rounds with ease and constantly bothered Baalla with her accurate strikes at Kokugikan Arena, considered the spiritual home of sumo.
Baalla, 22, lost his cool and tried to bite his opponent’s ear during the third round, but a surprised Nyika managed to back away in time.
The match continued and Nyika made it to the quarterfinals, but was surprised that the referee had not seen the incident.
“Have you seen him? I don’t think the referee saw him. He was the one who was closest,” said Nyika, 25.
The Moroccan team spokesman in Tokyo did not respond to a request for comment.
Although Baalla’s action went unnoticed during the fighting, it came to the attention of authorities after Tuesday’s session.
“The boxer had the clear intention of biting his opponent’s ear / face in the third round of the bout,” organizers said in a statement.
(Edited in Spanish by Javier Leira)