Boxing officials threatened after tournaments

Boxing referee W.M.R. Wekadapola is alleged to have received threatening anonymous phone calls late in the night before the finals of the Junior National Boxing Championships concluded at Royal College Boxing Hall on Sunday.Wekadapola, a former Pilimatalawa MMV boxer and now Asian qualified judge, said he was intimidated with invective and death threats by the caller whom he claimed to be a supporter of a Colombo school. But having no evidence he did not file a formal complaint though informing Amateur Boxing Association officials.

This was not an isolated incident during the four-day event. Another official Aubrey Peiris, a former Royal boxer, said he saw nails planted near the tyres of his car while an egg was thrown at former Sri Lanka boxer Major P.L.J. Ratnasuriya’s vehicle.A respected referee, Ratnasuriya said vandals allegedly removed air from two tyres in his car when he was an official during the L.V. Jayaweera inter-school boxing meet in Pilimatalawa earlier this year.The standard of refereeing and judging at the Junior Nationals, however, came under fire from many coaches though there were no formal protests at any decision.