Malavi completes 25 years as Referee and Judge
BOXING: Priantha Malavi completed 25 years as a Referee/Coach
in Boxing. He qualified in September 1982 to be the youngest to qualify
as a Referee in Sri Lanka, and still happens to be the youngest to
officiate as a Referee in Sri Lanka. At present he is the most senior
active Referee/Judge in the country.
The youngest to qualify as a Judge in the country is Dian Gomes, the
current President of the ABA who also qualified in 1982 and still
happens to be the youngest Judge in Sri Lanka.
Malavi's first meet was when he officiated at the Royal College
Inter-House Meet in 1983 and since has officiated at many Meets around
the country always maintaining a high standard of skill and fair play.
Unfortunately there were no FAAB examinations held in Sri Lanka during
the 1980s and 1990s for Malavi to qualify as a FFFB or AIBA official.
He was Royal's Boxing Secretary in 1972 and was Technical Advisor
from 1974 to 1994 during which period Royal won the Stubbs Shield on
nine occasions, the L. V. Jayaweera Cup once, the T. B. Jayah Cup on six
occasions, Francis Jayawardene Cup once and the Phelps Trophy on four
occasion.
Many were the Royalists who won the Best Boxer and Best Loser
trophies during this period. He is a founder and Life Member of the
Royal Boxing Club and has been its Treasurer for the past 20 years. He
is also a member and Auditor of the Boxing Referees and Judges
Association of Sri Lanka (BRJASL) and Sri Lanka Amateur Boxing Coaches
Association (SLABCA).
Malavi came under the tutelage of the late Danton Obeysekera and
Ponnambalam Rajendram at Royal College and was helped on the road to
Refereeing and Judging by the late Thomas de Silva and late Dharmasiri
Weerakoon and also K. V. Dharmadasa, Per Sonnerby, Mr and Mrs
Embuldeniya and especially Donald Munasinghe.
He also functioned as a Ringside Announcer at the Sri Lanka vs
Philippines and Sri Lanka vs Vietnam Dual Meets and the South Asian
Games in 2006 and as a TV commentator at the Sri Lanka vs Tanzania Duel
meet. He has also participated in Cricket, Hockey, Basketball and
Athletics and is presently the Administrative Manager of PriceWater
HouseCoopers.
LG |