• Referee Udeni Kiridena was suspended by the IOC after the 2016 Rio Games
• Boxing public pleads for IOC’s intervention

It is reliably learnt that International Boxing Federation Board Director and President of the Boxing Association (IBA) of Sri Lanka Dian Gomes used Udeni Kiridena, a former Olympic Referee who was once suspended by the International Olympic Committee (IOC) to rig the selection of boxers scheduled to take part in the upcoming Paris 2024 Boxing Trials scheduled to take place in Bangkok, Thailand.

Kiridena, who is now appointed as one of the current BASL Boxing selection officials, incidentally, is part of the team headed by Gen.(Rtd) Jagath Jayasuriya, who himself is guilty of flouting the country’s Sports Law Act No. 25 of 1973 by concurrently holding onto two positions in separate sports bodies.

Udeni Kiridena – Suspended by the IOC after the Rio 2016 scandal

The country’s Sport Law states Act No.25 of 1973 – section (8) of Gazette No. 2310/26 dated 14/12/2022 – 5 (6) reads “a person; holding the position of President, secretary, Treasurer, Vice/Deputy President, Vice/Deputy Secretary, Vice/Deputy Treasurer in a National Association of sports, a District Association of Sports or affiliated Sports Club is disqualified to hold any other positions in his National Association of Sports, a Provincial Association of Sports, a District Association of Sports, Divisional Sports Club or affiliated Sports Club or any other National Association of Sports.”

As the Chairman of the BASL Boxing Selection Committee, Gen. (Rtd) Jayasuriya is also a current member of the National Sports Council (NSC) appointed by the Minister of Sports Harin Fernando.

There is reliable understanding that Dian Gomes, the current President of BASL, who also serves as the Board Director of the banned International Boxing Association (IBA) under the IOC, leveraged this position to settle a personal vendetta against two boxers. These boxers were poised to secure Paris 2024 Olympic quota slots but were omitted from the list for the Bangkok Trials as orchestrated by Gomes.

Female boxer Nadeeka Ranasinghe, a bronze medal winner at the SAF Games in Nepal (2019), a bronze medal winner at the Asia Boxing Championship in Dubai (2021) and also a multiple recipient of the BASL organized National Boxing Championship’s best boxer award, found her name removed from the list. This action was taken because she is a student of the former Sri Lanka Boxing and three-star International Coach Amila Aravinda Thissera, who rather unfortunately had a recent falling out with Dian Gomes.

The other boxer, Niraj Wijewardena happens to be a multiple award winner at the BASL Nationals Boxing Championship. As a powerhouse pugilist, he went on to clinch a bronze medal at last year’s Asian Boxing Federation event in Taipei and also competed at the Asian Games.

However, in Wijewardena’s case, he has been continuously victimized by Dian Gomes over the past two years. Unfortunately, for no sin of his, he finds himself entangled in a case of a sexual nature, where he is the first witness in a case filed by a victim against Dian Gomes. This case is scheduled to be heard in the Magistrates Court of Sri Lanka on the 16th of May 2024.

Meanwhile, on August 17, 2016, the New York Times exposed the Rio 2016 Olympic boxing scandal by publishing a story that highlighted the name of Sri Lankan referee Udeni Kiridena, who was part of a group of 36 boxing officials suspended by the IOC.

The published New York Times story titled “Boxing Judges and Refs Removed After Suspicious Results” went on to state “The judges’ decision in the Conlan-Nikitin fight was not the first at the Rio Games to draw scrutiny. On Monday, the crowd jeered when another Russian fighter, Evgeny Tishchenko, was awarded a unanimous decision over Vassiliy Levit of Kazakhstan, who appeared to have won the bout handily. Two of the three judges who scored Conlan’s bout — Jones Kennedy Silva do Rosario of Brazil and Udeni Talik Bandara Kiridena of Sri Lanka — returned to officiate on Wednesday. All three judges had scored the fight 29-28 in favor of Nikitin.”

But the biggest shocker in all of this came when the National Sports Selection Committee (NSSC), appointed by Minister of Sports Harin Fernando and headed by Gen. Shavenrda Silva, overlooked the fact that the BASL now had two boxing selection officials who were holding illegal positions in the committee. 

Current Chairman National Sports Selection Committee General Shavendra Silva, was once hailed as a hero for saving the nation from a bloody civil war. However, quite sadly he failed to protect the rights and interests of two victimized boxers. Many believe it was the dominant Royal College brigade that influenced the NSSC and the comradeship he shared with the Gen. (Rtd) Jagath Jayasuriya that made him succumb to pressure and turn a blind eye.

However, the blind eye turned by the NSSC and headed by the current Sri Lanka Army General Shavendra Silva comes as no surprise as Dian Gomes, a once former President Gotabaya Rajapaksa appointee to the Public Service Commission still wields a brand of power that has even the current law enforcement officials of the country bow down at the snap of his fingers. Gomes also maintains a firm grip on the media and is famously known to make the links of any story of his published misdeeds disappear.

Dian Gomes the once self-claimed boxers’ “Cornerman”

It’s disheartening to witness Sri Lanka, a nation once the cynosure of many countries already grappling with its worst series of crises, now facing further turmoil as unscrupulous politicians and corrupt businessmen plunge the country into a deep political and economic downward spiral.

This unfortunate turn of events has not only inflicted immense suffering on the people but has also cast a shadow over the country’s sporting community, affecting its athletes who strive for excellence against all odds.

The Boxing Association of Sri Lanka, led by a group of unscrupulous individuals, stands as a glaring example of incompetence within sports federations. Despite the opportunity to field a team of 7 male and 6 female boxers across 13 weight categories offering quota spots for the Paris 2024 Olympic Games, the association failed to do so.

They fielded just one male boxer for the first trials, did not select any boxers for the second trials (citing they feared boxers will jump ship in Europe as a lame excuse to cover their faults) which was held in Italy in March 2024 and now have nominated just two male boxers to compete at the upcoming third Trials scheduled to take place in Bangkok, Thailand.

Await next story – A detailed description of as to how boxers Nadeeka and Niraj’s appeals was further botched by the National Sports Selection Committee officials.

Links to previously published stories:

SL Boxing ‘Bigwig’ Threatens Referees & Judges – (themorningtelegraph.com)

SL Boxing chief embroiled in sex case – investigation commences – (themorningtelegraph.com)

Sexual Harassment Case Against Dian Gomes Reopens, Taken Up In Court – (themorningtelegraph.com)