SATURDAY, APRIL 20, 2024
Team Herald
PANJIM: Goa’s AIBA certified International Technical Officer (ITO) and vice-president of Goa Boxing Association, Lenny D’Gama is the only evaluator from Asia to be a part of this championship this year, the rest being either from the United States or Europe.
D’Gama’s job at the championship will be to evaluate the referees and judges as per their performance in the ring, during the bouts and to check on the manipulation. The monitored championship will have one boxing ring with only two evaluators and one observer. India has nine boxers who have qualified for the Tokyo 2020 however, D’Gama is representing as a neutral ITO.
D’Gama credits his selection to his dedication and honesty toward the sport. “I have learnt a lot on evaluation and will be able to do a good job. I used to analyze the bouts till 3 a.m. and start again at 6 a.m.,” he said. The International Olympics Committee Boxing Task Force is incharge of this championship and they will be overlooking the championship along with international auditors.
Director of Sports Authority of Goa (SAG), VM Prabhudessai expressed his thoughts and stressed why it is important to be consistent to excel at an international level. “Lenny is the first person to be chosen from our territory. His selection indicates that if one spends a lot of time in one sport you can excel at an international level. Consistency is an important factor. Other association officials should in some capacity or the other spend some time in one sport thus excelling in it,” he said.
Secretary, Goa Olympic Association, Gurudatta Bhakta speaking about D’Gama and his work said: “D’Gama is one of the founding members of Goa Olympic Association. He has reached the pinnacle by qualifying for the Olympics. He is passionate about boxing and has shown that he is passionate about administration as well.”
