• Lanka to host first Asian Boxing C’ship in 57 years

The Boxing Association of Sri Lanka (BASL) President Anuruddha Bandara is firmly of the view that though for the past five-and-a-half decades there had been many past heads of the Boxing Association, none had dared to take the risk of hosting a top-tier Asian boxing championship in this country.

He made this revelation addressing the media at a news conference held at Cinnamon Grand Hotel on Monday (5), linked to the ASBC Asian Under-22 and Youth Boxing Championships 2025, which is scheduled to take place at the Sugathadasa Stadium from 12-23 May.

“This is a real risky undertaking,” Bandara told reporters. “Hosting a boxing championship of this scale, incurs a lot of money and nobody to date had the vision to get such an event off the ground.”

The BASL President said that no sooner had he decided to go ahead with the championship he had been supported to the hilt by his Secretary Tharanga Perera and a few other officials from the Boxing Association.

He stressed that his team had therefore taken the decision to host the said event for the first time since 1968, with the fervent hope of giving a shot in the arm for pugilists here.

The BASL head stated that having strived hard during the past 10-month period he was glad that he had been able to realise one of his long-term dreams.

Bandara emphasised that he was hopeful that at least 10 medals could be won by Lankan pugilists at the impending competition, which would be open free of charge to the public.

“I am very optimistic that our boxers will be able to win at least that many medals and if it does happen it will be the highest number of medals ever won by our boxers at a single championship in the history of the sport,” said an upbeat BASL head.

He assured the media that the final 33-member contingent of local boxers ratified by the Sports Minister, will be released to the press within a couple of days.

The BASL President also took a swipe at his detractors insisting that there had been many naysayers who had cast doubts at every of the BASLs ability to host a tournament of such magnitude.

However, he mentioned they had managed to overcome such pitfalls with the support of his team of BASL officials and those from the ASBC – whose Sports Director Marina Ni was also part of the news briefing.  

BASL Secretary Tharanga Perera said that 400 athletes and officials from over 25 nations are set to battle it out for honours at the championship slated to commence next Monday.

“This will be the first time as many as 33 local boxers will be competing in various weight categories for Sri Lanka at an international meet,” he explained, putting down the total estimated cost of the event at Rs. 880 million.

He stated that powerhouses of the sport from the continent such as India, Kazakhstan, Uzbekistan, Australia and Thailand, will be among the competing countries, making it one of the most significant multi-nation sporting events Sri Lanka has staged in recent times.

The event is being organised by the BASL, in conjunction with the Asian Boxing Confederation and the International Boxing Association (IBA).

The BASL officials revealed that the championship will be open to boxers born in specific years. The Under-22 category includes athletes born between 2003 and 2006, while the Youth category will be open to those born in 2007 and 2008. 

In preparation for the competition, the BASL has launched a residential high-performance training camp for a final pool of 25 athletes and 10 national coaches.

This facility, which recently inaugurated an international-standard boxing ring, is hosting the camp from 18 April to 9 May. The camp is fully funded by BASL, with a long-term focus on the 2028 Los Angeles Olympics.

BASL officials added that all technical arrangements for the tournament have been finalised, with referees, judges and officials appointed by the ASBC.

The IBA President Umar Kremlev has also pledged a total prize fund of $ 100,000, with gold medalists receiving $ 1000, silver medalists $ 500 and bronze medalists $ 250.

Running concurrently with the tournament, the International Technical Officials’ (ITO) Course is also set to be conducted from 12-15 May.

This particular programme is designed to enhance the competencies of the Sri Lankan officials and align them with international standards.