Boxing, wrestling removed from 2024 Paris Olympics

Boxing

Wrestling

• NOCSL Chief says athletes will suffer by the move

National Olympic Committee of Sri Lanka (NOCSL) President Suresh Subramaniam said that it was a sad day for two sports – boxing and wrestling – which have been removed from the 2024 Paris Olympics on the grounds of corruption.

“It is a sad thing because at the end of the day it is the athletes who are going to suffer,” said Subramaniam.

It’s not that Sri Lanka would have been severely affected by the removal of the two sports, but in the overall context, the rest of the countries will suffer. Sri Lanka has not sent a wrestler to the Olympics since 1964, and in boxing, the last occasion was in 2008.

The International Olympic Committee (IOC) is vested with powers to remove any sport from the Olympics.

The governing bodies of boxing and weightlifting were described as problems by IOC President Thomas Bach, who has long voiced concerns with the leadership of those sports and issues with corruption and doping.

An independent report confirmed that boxing bouts were manipulated at the Rio 2016 Olympics, while weightlifting had doping and governance issues.

Subramaniam said that due to his frequent contacts with people when he attends IOC meetings, he has been able to get a lot of things done for sports in Sri Lanka.

“I like to meet people and exchange ideas,” said Subramaniam. 

“Every time when I go to my meetings, I make it a point to meet the respective Olympic committees. I spend about 2-3 days, and it costs me, but the idea is to learn. These guys have done something better than us, and we want to learn. There is no time to experience. As a result, we are able to send our weightlifters to be trained in Iran and in Albania. We got some training in China as well. When you meet them only you can get a lot of things done.”Subramaniam said that the NOCSL General Secretary Maxwell de Silva is well respected in the international arena because he speaks his mind. 

“That is the problem in Sri Lanka, when you speak your mind, you are a bad man. Internationally, when you speak your mind, they accept it. Maxwell has been there for a long time, because of that, he has a lot of friends internationally.”

The NOCSL President was critical of officials who come under the guise as volunteers and don’t do anything for the sport.

“There are certain sports, no point even talking about it, they don’t do anything. Those administrators must be sent home. They take the cover under volunteers. I have questioned officials because most of them say they are volunteers, so therefore, they keep second fiddle for the sports they love. If you come as a volunteer, you have to give your time. Volunteer means you have come on your own, nobody asked you, so you should be able to do it.” – (ST).