Sri Lanka vs Russia in boxing dual

Dinesh WEERAWANSA reporting from China

OLYMPICS: BEIJING, Aug. 23 - Russia has agreed to tour Sri Lanka later this year for a dual boxing meet. President of the Amateur Boxing Association of Sri Lanka Dian Gomes held a fruitful round of discussions with top Russian boxing officials for the dual meet, which would be a big boost for Lankan boxing.

In an exclusive interview with the Sunday Observer today, Gomes, who is also the Chef-de-Mission of the Sri Lanka contingent for the XX1Xth Olympic Games here, said the Russia agreed to tour Sri Lanka in October for a dual meet.

ABASL President and Vice President of the National Olympic Committee of Sri Lanka, Gomes held discussions with the Deputy President of the Amateur Russian Boxing Federation, Valdimir Surkov last night.

Surkov, who is also the President of the Moscow Boxing Association, has agreed to go ahead with the proposed dual meet and will send a Russian boxing team for the dual meet.

The Sri Lanka-Russia dual meet will comprise of seven bouts, four for men and three for women.

Sri Lanka boxing chief said the dual meet would be beneficial for both the countries and would be of greater interest for Sri Lanka in their preparations for the 2010 Asian Games in China.

He said the participation of Anuruddha Ratnayake in men’s 51kg flyweight category is a positive sign for Sri Lanka boxing and it has created greater interest and awareness on the ring sport in the country.

Qualifying for the Olympics alone is an achievement and I would like to see at least two or three Lankans boxing at the 2012 Olympic Games in London, he said.

Gomes said India’s progress to win their first-ever Olympic medal in boxing, a bronze, is a positive sign for the South Asian region. Thailand is doing well and are set for a gold medal. That is a good beginning for Asian boxing, he continued.

The Lankan boxing chief, who is making every effort to take local boxing to international arena, said there is greater transparency in judging.

Some of the big names in world boxing have lost key bouts. In contrast, several lesser-known countries in the boxing arena have come up. They have demolished the dominance a few countries had, he added.

Gomes said the ABASL will continue to work towards their long-term plan and every encouragement would be given to national boxers to gain 2012 Olympic qualification. At the same time, we will do everything possible to make our presence felt at the next Asian Games. But the Olympics will be our ultimate goal, he concluded. Meanwhile, Sri Lanka boxer Ratnayake said his Olympic participation would be a big boost to sharpen his international career. True that the things did not go right for me here in Beijing.

But definitely Olympics taught me a lot of things. It was a good experience and with that, I will plan my future, Lanka’s champion flyweight boxer said.