China’s Xian Jinbin was awarded the bronze medal at the event at the International Rowing Center but appeared to hit one of the 260-meter course’s gates, which would have resulted in a two-second penalty and his demotion to fourth.

Although a number of spectators said they had seen Xian hit the gate, the judges did not penalize him, angering Thai kayaker Hermann Ludwig Husslein, who finished the race fourth only 0.36 seconds behind.

“For sure they’ll do anything to get their competitors a medal. They are like cheating all the time,” he told Reuters.

“That’s sporting life and the athletes can’t change it.”

The Thailand team said officials had obfuscated their attempts to protest the decision and would not allow them to view video footage of the race.

“The person in the protest office told me to wait. I waited a long time. Later they told me that I could not protest because I had not put in the form quick enough,” team manager Chakchai Noihuahaad said.

A spokeswoman for the venue management denied the Thai team had been treated unfairly and said all teams had been advised of the proper process for lodging protests prior to the competition.

“As the organizers of this event, we obey the international rules to handle these kinds of problems. We hope that everyone in the world can appreciate fair and excellent competition,” she said.

China’s Huang Cunguang won the slalom gold after scoring 88.15 with no penalties, ahead of Japan’s Kazuki Yazawa on 89.83 seconds, who was handed a two-second penalty for hitting a gate.

The news conference was canceled without any reason given. The Chinese team said they were unaware of the situation and also declined to comment.

“You spend 20 hours a week in the water and training, and for this to happen is really disappointing,” Husslein said.

The Asian Games run until Nov. 27.