Nelka Shiromala ends trailblazing career with pride Sri Lanka’s Queen of the Ring Bows Out

Nelka Shiromala was the first woman to qualify as a 3-star referee from South Asia and Southeast Asia

By Allaam Ousman

In a poignant farewell to the global boxing fraternity, Chief Inspector Nelka Shiromala Thampu — Sri Lanka’s first and most decorated female boxing referee — has officially retired, bringing the curtain down on a career that spanned over  two decades and rewrote the history of Sri Lankan sports officiating.

Revered as Sri Lanka’s ‘Queen of the Ring’, Nelka leaves behind a glittering legacy, having officiated at two Olympic Games, countless world tournaments, and shattering gender barriers in what was once an exclusively male domain. Her departure marks the end of an era, evoking parallels with the legendary Dharmasiri Weerakoon, Sri Lanka’s ‘King of the Ring’ and Olympic referee, whose pioneering footsteps she followed with distinction.

Born on 22 January 1976 in Galle to a Tamil father and Sinhalese mother, Nelka’s journey was deeply influenced by her father Thambu Sampath, a Navy coach and national-level boxer. Inspired by his dream, she joined the Sri Lanka Police in 1997 and immediately began making waves — first as a top pistol shooter, winning back-to-back ‘Best Police Shooter’ awards, and then as a boxer, becoming the first female to don gloves for the Police boxing team in 2001.

Between 2002 and 2006, Nelka was a dominant figure in domestic women’s boxing, often finishing runner-up but earning the Best 

Loser’s award for her resilience. Her international boxing debut came when she represented Sri Lanka, becoming the first Policewoman to compete internationally.

It was after her return from a UN peacekeeping mission in East Timor and Senegal that Nelka transitioned to refereeing — a move that would define her destiny. In 2009, she was among the first batch of four female boxing officials in Sri Lanka, marking the dawn of a new chapter.

Her rise was meteoric. Within two years, she became a 1-star international referee, making her debut at the 2011 Indonesian President’s Cup, where she was the only female official. She was soon invited to officiate at the London 2012 Olympic Test Event, where she earned a 2-star badge after just six months.

In 2013, she created history as South Asia and Southeast Asia’s first female 3-star referee and judge, the highest certification in international boxing officiating. She went on to referee at major events including: AIBA Women’s World Championships 2014 in South Korea, Asian Championships 2015 in Thailand (only woman to referee a  final), World Series of Boxing (WSB) 2017–2020, becoming Sri Lanka’s first WSB-qualified female referee, 2018 Commonwealth Games in Gold Coast as the first Sri Lankan technical official.

Nelka’s crowning achievement came at the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games, where she made global headlines as the first Sri Lankan woman boxing referee at the Olympics. She became the first female official in history to referee two Olympic finals, including the women’s lightweight and men’s light heavyweight finals — an unprecedented feat.

She followed that up at the Paris 2024 Olympics, where she was honoured as the second-best ranked boxing referee in the world among 40 international officials, once again cementing her place among boxing’s elite.

Nelka’s service to the nation extended far beyond boxing. Rising to the rank of Chief Inspector of Police, she served in vital divisions including the Child & Women’s Bureau, Tourist Police, CID, TID, and even held command at Kollupitiya Police, becoming the first female OIC of an A1 police station.

She was also a Police colourswoman in multiple sportsn— boxing, netball, badminton — and was one of the first female Police divers. A former games captain at Rippon Girl’s College, Galle, she excelled in athletics and displayed leadership from her school days.

Nelka’s efforts have not gone unnoticed:

Best Female Referee in Asia (2017) – Asian Boxing Confederation Presidential Award for Best Female Athlete (2022)

Top 50 Women’s Recognition Awards – Highest honour in sports

WICE Women National Honoree at BMICH Despite personal tragedies — including the loss of her father just days before her Tokyo Olympic appointment — Nelka carried forward his dream with determination. “When I stood in the Olympic ring, I carried him with me,” she once shared, holding back tears.

As Nelka Shiromala bows out of the  ring, she does so not in sorrow but in celebration of a mission fulfilled. “My time in the ring has ended,” she says, “but my mission to inspire continues.”

Her legacy is not only measured by medals or milestones — but by the barriers she broke, the dignity she brought to the sport, and the path she paved for young women dreaming of the ring.

In the words of boxing legend Dharmasiri Weerakoon, “the referee is the king of the ring.” And in Nelka Shiromala, Sri Lanka had its undisputed queen.

As the final bell rings on her illustrious career, the nation rises to salute a true champion — on the canvas and beyond.