British boxer Ben Whittaker REFUSES to wear his silver medal on the podium stuffs it in his pocket

A British boxer stunned an Olympic audience on Wednesday night when he refused point-blank to wear his medal on the podium. Ben Whittaker kept his head down throughout the ceremony and when his name was announced he collected his silver and stuffed it into his pocket as his fellow medallists looked on. Whittaker, 24, of West Bromwich, looked crestfallen and barely raised his head to look at the Union Flag as it was unveiled next to the flags of the other medallists from Cuba, Azerbaijan and the Russian Olympic Committee. There were four medallists on the podium instead of three as the bronze medal was shared with Imam Khataev of the Russian Olympic Committee and Loren Berto Alfonso Dominguez of Azerbaijan. The boxing event doesn&have a bronze medal match due to short recovery times. Asked by MailOnline why he hadn’t worn his medal, Whittaker said: ‘Yeah, so, I didn’t win a gold. ‘I lost a gold, so to me it’s a failure so I am not going to celebrate silver at the moment. I am sure over the years I will look back and see what an achievement it is.’ He added: ‘You don’t win silver…you lose gold. So that is why I was so emotional. Nobody trains for silver or bronze.