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Boxer expelled following discovery of true identity

An Azerbaijani boxer was thrown out of the first of two Olympic qualifying events in Pescara, Italy, after it was revealed he was actually Russian.

David Arshba was within one victory of securing a place at the Beijing Games when a complaint from the British team resulted in his true identity being revealed and him expelled from the competition.

Arshba had won three fights to reach the semi-finals of the super-heavyweight division and needed to beat Croatian Marko Tomasovic in the semi-final to book his ticket to China.

In the quarter-finals he had defeated Englishman David Price by a narrow 19-17 score.

After Wednesday's bout, the British team made a complaint and it was later discovered that Arshba was actually Russian and had fought in the Russian championships last May.

Price was initially given a place in the semi-finals but then Arshba's two previously beaten opponents, Finland's Robert Helenius and Giorgios Chotz of Greece complained that they too should be promoted.

In the end a draw took place to see which of the three should progress to the semi-finals and Helenius was the lucky name out of the hat to take on Tomasovic.

There is still another chance for the other boxers to qualify for Beijing in the second and last qualifying event in Athens from April 14 to April 17.
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