Sri Lankan boxer Rukmal wins a Gold in France
Sri Lankan boxer Rukmal Prasanna clinched a gold medal at the Les Ceintures International Boxing meet in France. Prasanna won the gold medal in the 56kg bantamweight class defeating Canadian boxer Al Ahamadi in the final. The 22-year boxer Prasanna defeated Erilmas from Italy in the semi-finals to enter the finals earlier. This is the first Sri Lankan boxing gold medal for the year 2022.
 Sri Lankan boxing chief Dian Gomes who was elected IBA board member poses for a picture |
Rukmal Prasanna coached by Abdulla Ibunuge representing Sri Lanka Police already performed well at the domestic boxing arena while winning L.V Jayaweera, T.B Jayah Memorial Boxing Championship, and Stubbs Shield Boxing Championship in his weight category to get the International qualification. Hailing from Ingiriya, Prasanna one time won the National Boxing Championship. Having early International experience from Bulgaria and Thailand International boxing meets, this gold medal is the Prasanna’s highest International achievement in his boxing career.
Dian Gomes elected as IBA Board member
Meanwhile, Sri Lanka Boxing Association President Dian Gomes who was recently elected as a Board member of the International Boxing Association (IBA) on the previous day was very happy to hear about Prasanna’s achievement in France. The Sri Lankan Boxing liveware Gomes was the continent of Asia in IBA at the Waw Hotel and Convention Center in Istanbul, Turkey. Yousef Al-Kazim (Qatar), Dian Gomes (Sri Lanka), and Zhou Jin Qiang (China) made it to the Magic Circle of 10, representing the Asian Boxing Confederation (ASBC).
ASBC President Pichai Chunhavajira expressed elation at the election of the three Asians saying, “We are proud of our representation in the IBA Board of Independent Directors. I am confident they will live up to the expectations of those who elected them.”
155 countries participated in the exercise and the other directors voted in included five women, as stipulated by the IBA constitution.
They were USA’s Elise Seignolle, Pearl Dlamini of Eswatini, Kristy Harris of Australia, Zsuzsanna Toth from Hungary, and Maria Forcen Celaya of Spain.