Haroon Khan will have to settle for the bronze medal he secured when he knocked the last British boxer out of contention in his division at the Commonwealth Games.
He was well and truly beaten by India's Suranjoy Singh in the semifinals of the 52-kilogram division on Monday, but the fight was overshadowed by a protest in another bout when Olympic bronze medalist Vijender Singh was penalized twice in a points decision.
Haroon, the younger brother of WBA world champion Amir Khan, was competing for Pakistan here after being snubbed by the England selectors. He beat a Welshman to reach the semifinals and ensure a Commonwealth Games medal, then said his aim for the games had been to prove the selectors wrong and to finish ahead of any of the British boxers.
His chances of winning gold diminished rapidly after conceding a 6-0 lead in the first round en route to a 9-3 loss to Asian champion Suranjoy, who later said he ''did not consider this bout to be a major challenge.''
Suranjoy's win in the evening session had followed three losses by his Indian compatriots in the afternoon. It was a later loss which sparked the protests from India, however, when Vijender was eliminated on penalty points to England's Anthony Ogogo in the 75-kilogram class.
Vijender led 3-0 going into the final round, but was twice penalized two points for clinging too often to his opponent in a bid to prevent attacks.
The Indian boxer had let his lead slip to just one point midway into the final round and was then given another penalty with less than 30 seconds to go. His opponent won without scoring a point through attack.
''We made a formal protest against the decision. We felt the decision to award points towards the end of the bout was unfair, but the appeal has been turned down,'' Indian Boxing Federation secretary-general P.K. Muralidaran Raja said.
''A complete review of the television recordings helped the jury to come to the conclusion that the decision to award points was fair and our protest fee of $500 has been forfeited.''
Suranjoy said the earlier losses for India had been on his mind, ''and I was not feeling good.''
''We all got together and spoke about it before the session and were determined to do well,'' he said.
Suranjoy said he had figured in tougher bouts earlier in the tournament.
Haroon Khan ''was not so strong and I did not let him counterattack. He was not playing with a close guard, but he did come forward once in a while,'' Suranjoy said.
The 19-year-old Haroon Khan was gracious in defeat, but reserved a shot for the England selectors.
''I knew it would be tough before it started, especially in his backyard,'' Haroon said. ''He is a great fighter, is strong and keeps coming forward.''
''My aim was to get a medal here,'' he added, pointedly. ''The selectors need to know that I should have got that medal for England.''
Suranjoy's win was followed by Manoj Kumar's entry into the 64 kilogram final and Paramjeet Samota's march into the above 91 title bout.
