Boxing Association of Sri Lanka (BASL) president Dian Gomes urged local referees and judges to keep pace with the changes taking place in the boxing world by ensuring greater transparency when they make decisions.
The Olympic sport of boxing has been plagued by controversies from time immemorial despite changes to the manual scoring system with the introduction of computer judging by former AIBA (International Amateur Boxing Association) President Prof. Anwar Chowdhry.
“Boxing has been a controversial sport for a long time. The boxing rules keep on changing. IBA (International Boxing Association) will change the rules this year. We have to restart again thinking about refereeing and judging. The world has changed and more transparency is expected by the IOC (International Olympic Committee) for boxing,” said Gomes, an executive committee member of both the Asian and world bodies.
“You’ll need to keep changing and keep the transparency going in boxing. Boxing is one of our best sports where we can win a medal at the Commonwealth Games,” said Gomes revealing the BASL had been promised Rs 50 million for the first time by Sports Minister Namal Rajapaksa while A&E have given a sponsorship to conduct local meets.
AIBA, which changed its acronym to IBA, was suspended by the IOC in June 2019 and stripped of the right to organise the Olympic boxing tournament at Tokyo 2020.
The IOC warned IBA that it must “demonstrate it has successfully addressed the ongoing concerns around its governance, financial transparency and sustainability and the integrity of refereeing and judging process” by 2023 for boxing to be included at Los Angeles 2028 and for its suspension to be lifted in time for Paris 2024.
Nonetheless, Gomes hailed the contribution made by past and present officials to keep Sri Lanka’s flag flying at major international competitions such as the Asian Games, Commonwealth Games and the Olympics. “We can be proud that we have the highest number of officials for a small country,” said Gomes during a felicitation ceremony for four stalwarts of the sport organised by the Boxing Referees and Judges Association (BRJA).
The BASL president reserved the highest praise for Nelka Shiromala who created history in Tokyo becoming the first woman technical official from Sri Lanka to officiate at the last year’s Olympic Games while lauding BRJA president Capt. R.K. Indrasena for organising the felicitation event.
Shiromala also updated BRJA members on the upcoming rule changes in the method of scoring during a seminar held at the KDU in Ratmalana with the assistance of another 3-Star international referee Rukman Wekadapola.
Former BASL president DIG Jayakumar Thangavelu (Rtd), former Royal boxing star Gen. Jagath Jayasuriya (Rtd), former Police pugilist SP Wazir Sourjah (Rtd) and renowned boxing coach from Wennappuwa ASP Indradasa Jayasinghe (Rtd) were the BRJA stalwarts who were recognised for their services to the sport.
Gomes recalled taking over the leadership baton from Thangavelu, who was not present to receive the award because of ill health. A former national champion who served on the BASL’s selection and disciplinary committee, he is a product of S. Thomas’ College, Mt Lavinia.
Jayasuriya was one of the finest boxing products of Royal College. He started boxing at Royal College under legendary coach Danton Obeyesekere winning his weight class at the Stubbs Shield meets in 1974, 1976 and 1977.
He won the coveted Col T.Y. Wright Challenge Cup awarded to the Best Boxer in the senior weight categories at the Stubbs Shield in 1977 in which year he also captained the Royal College boxing team.
He embarked on a distinguished career in the Army, joining as an Officer Cadet in 1978 and retiring as Commander of the Army/Chief of Defence Staff on July 31, 2015. He also served as Sri Lanka’s ambassador to Brazil with concurrent accreditation to Argentina, Chile, Peru, Colombia and Suriname.
He continued his boxing career by being accredited as national referee and judge in 1998, topping the batch that year. He became an international official when he was inducted into the Asian panel (FAAB) as a referee and judge in the year 2000.
He qualified as a 2-star AIBA international referee in 2003 and achieved the distinction of officiating at the 2006 Melbourne Commonwealth Games and the 2007 World Boxing Championship in Chicago, USA.
Chairman of the Army Boxing Committee from 2000 till his elevation as the Commander of the Army in 2009, he was instrumental in starting women’s boxing in Sri Lanka and in the Army.
He served as Secretary of the Amateur Boxing Association of Sri Lanka in 2002-2003 and also served a stint as Vice-President of the ABA under Dian Gomes. He has been serving as Chairman of the National Boxing Selection Committee for several years.
Describing him as a “tough selector” who believed in meritocracy, Gomes recalled the role he played in sending Anuruddha Ratnayake for the World Championships in 2007 amid much opposition which enabled him to qualify for the 2008 Beijing Olympic Games.
Retired Superintendent of Police Mohamed Wazir Sourjah had the unique distinction of having represented two great boxing institutions, St Michael’s, Polwatte and Royal College, Colombo.
He commenced his boxing career at St. Michael’s College Polwatte, under the tutelage of the late Anton John, a former National champion and HM Marzook, a former Sri Lanka boxer.
A three-time Stubbs Shield champion, Sourjah also represented YMCA Colombo and Police with distinction.
His boxing career blossomed at Royal College where he was coached by Danton Obeyesekere and P. Rajendram, both Cambridge University Boxing Blues.
He was adjudged Junior Best Boxer at the Stubbs Shield Championships in 1971 and was runner-up in the Paper (under 100lbs) weight as a schoolboy at the ABA Novices Meet in 1972.
Appointed Royal College boxing captain in 1973, he was awarded Schools Boxing Association colours when he represented Colombo Schools against the Maharashtra State Schools Boxing team in Bombay winning by a second round knock-out.
He came to the national limelight while representing YMCA coached by the late Gunadasa Fernando, winning the Light Fly weight class at the ABA Intermediates meet and was runner-up at the ABA Layton Cup in 1978.
Joining the Police as a Probationary Sub-Inspector where he came under the wing of Olympians HP and CP Jayasuriya and Dharmasiri Weerakoon, he was adjudged Best Boxer at the Dowbiggin Cup in 1980 and was runner-up at the Clifford Cup meet in the Bantam weight class.
He functioned as a National Referee/Judge from 1995 and served as the Honorary Secretary of the ABA in 2006/7 when Sri Lanka hosted the 10th SAF Games. He accompanied the national teams as manager to the Commonwealth Boxing Championships in Glasgow and World Boxing Championships in China in 2005, the Melbourne Commonwealth Games and Doha Asian Games in 2006.
Retired ASP Indradasa Jayasinghe is a selfless persevering individual who is synonymous with boxing at Wennappuwa.
One of the finest boxing promoters and administrators, he fell in love with boxing when he learnt the fundamentals of the sport from legendary boxing coach Anton John while studying at Mahabodhi College, Maradona.
Boxing did not take a back seat after he joined the Police Department in 1956 as he promoted the sport wherever he served in all parts of the island. It was in the city of Wennappuwa where he was transferred after gaining promotion to the rank of Inspector that his talents as a coach blossomed.
He trained children at Joseph Vaz College including his three sons, with his eldest son Nalin Jayasinghe going on to star at the national level representing Sri Lanka in two international competitions.
He was appointed a national referee and judge in 1993 and was also elected as president of the Sri Lanka Amateur Boxing Coaches Association in 1996. He served in both capacities with dedication till his retirement from the Police.