BASL President hits out at NOCSL

By Susil Premalal

Although boxing is a sport that has produced international medals in the past and has the potential to do so in future, the National Olympic Committee of Sri Lanka (NOCSL) is giving the Boxing Association of Sri Lanka (BASL) step-motherly treatment due to personal differences, BASL President Dian Gomes claims.

In this backdrop, a sport which has won medals at Commonwealth and Asian Games has given up hopes of representing the country at the Tokyo Olympic Games since they could not expect a ‘wildcard’ from the NOCSL to participate in boxing, Gomes told the ‘Daily Mirror’.

Sri Lanka boxers could not take part in qualifying tournaments for the Olympics because there were no international competitions during the past year after the outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic, dashing their hopes of making a bid to qualifying for the Games, the BASL President said.

After a long break, Sri Lanka got the opportunity to take part in the Asian Boxing Championship being held in Dubai by sending a seven-member team comprising four men and three women pugilists to UAE.

Sri Lanka is not going with the expectations of winning medals but to gain international exposure since many boxers who have qualified for the Olympics will be participating in the premier Asian competition, the BASL President said.

The BASL is ready to commence national pool training in preparation for the 2022 Commonwealth Games and 2024 Olympic Games once they get the green light from the Sports Ministry and health authorities.
“Sri Lanka’s main objective is to win two medals at the 2022 Birmingham Commonwealth Games,” said Gomes.
Although the BASL has made arrangements to get down a Cuban coach for men and a South Korean women’s coach, it has been delayed continuously because of the COVID-19 pandemic.

“The aim is to compete in the lower weight categories in order to target medals at the Commonwealth Games and other international competitions,” said Gomes.

In the history of the Commonwealth Games, Sri Lanka have won one gold, two silver and four bronze medals in boxing. A.W. Henricus won a gold medal at the 1938 Commonwealth Games fighting in the feather weight.
At the Asian Games, Sri Lanka has won one silver medal and four bronze medals. H.P. Jayasuriya won a silver medal at the 1954 Asian Games fighting in the bantam weight.

“We are not targeting medals at the 2022 Asian Games because the top boxers come from Asia,” the BASL President said. Boxers have represented Sri Lanka on several occasions in the Olympics but have never succeeded in winning medals. However, at the 2019 South Asian Games in Kathmandu, Nepal, Sri Lanka won a total of 11 medals comprising one gold, two silver and eight bronze medals.