New Delhi: Four women are currently making their mark in the boxing ring at the 2026 Asian Games, not as competitors, but as referees officiating men’s bouts.
During the first five days of competition, Cho Jung Sook, Jovana Ugrenovic, Maria Del Pilar Morales Javier and Sarra Bouhlel have refereed men’s boxing bouts. Together, they account for four of the 25 referees to have officiated men’s bouts so far. Women therefore make up 16 percent of the referee pool, or roughly one for every five men.
These figures were compiled from the official bout-result sheets for men’s boxing. Each referee was counted once, regardless of the number of bouts they officiated, while officials assigned only as judges were excluded.
The figure is provisional. Preliminary rounds continue until 28 September, followed by the semi-finals on 29 and 30 September. After a rest day on 1 October, all 11 boxing champions will be crowned across two finals sessions on 2 October. The number of women referees could therefore increase as the competition progresses.
The current figure is lower than at the Paris Olympics, where six women were among the 38 boxing referees and judges: Beki Piroska, Cho Jungsook, Susann Köpke, Lin Chia Chan, Szucs Veronika and Nelka Thampu. Women accounted for 16 percent of the overall officiating pool.
At the 2023 Asian Games in Hangzhou, three women—Jennifer Huggins, Susann Köpke and Beki Piroska Boglárka—officiated men’s boxing bouts, alongside 29 men. Women therefore accounted for three of the 32 referees used in men’s boxing, or about 9 percent.
A history that goes back to the 1940s
Women’s involvement in boxing officiating dates back decades, with Belle Martell becoming the first woman licensed in California to referee amateur boxing matches in 1940.
Martell passed her referee’s license examination in 1940 and made her debut at 46 in Pasadena where she refereed eight bouts before a crowd of about 700, according to a 2006 report by the Los Angeles Times.
About two weeks later, the California State Athletic Commission adopted a rule barring women from being licensed to referee when the other performers were men. After her licence was revoked, Martell said she had “taken a great deal from a certain class in the boxing game” during her years in the sport. The controversy, she added, had prompted her to “step out and give the men who have been blasting so loudly a chance to see what they can do for boxing”, according to the Los Angeles Times.
Decades later, Gwen Adair became the first woman to referee a world-title fight. According to a 2009 Los Angeles Times profile, Adair officiated the junior-middleweight bout between Pedro Ortega and Luis “Yory Boy” Campas in Tijuana on 5 June 1998. Fellow referee Marty Denkin said Adair had “climbed a hill not many would have climbed”, while fellow female referee Sparkle Lee said: “She started it all, and I’m thankful for that.”
India’s own women officials
India has also had women officiating at the international level. A 2017 Hindustan Times profile described Razia Shabnam as the country’s first woman international boxing referee and judge. Shabnam took up boxing in 1998, became a coach in 2001 and later travelled abroad to officiate at international tournaments, including men’s bouts.
More recently, Chandigarh-based referee Sonia Kanwar Jarial became the first Indian woman to pass the International Boxing Association’s three-star referee and judge examination in 2022. The qualification made her eligible to officiate at world championships and the Olympics, The Indian Express reported.
Sri Lanka’s Nelka Shiromala also rose through the international ranks after taking up refereeing in 2009. She officiated at several Asian and international competitions before reaching the Tokyo 2020 Olympics. At Tokyo, Shiromala refereed the men’s light-heavyweight final between Cuba’s Arlen López and Britain’s Ben Whittaker.
The Daily Mirror described her as Sri Lanka’s “Queen of the Ring” and noted that she became the first Sri Lankan female boxing referee to officiate at the Olympics. Looking back on her career, Shiromala told The Daily Mirror: “My time in the ring has ended, but my mission to inspire continues.”
The four women officiating at Japan are the latest chapter in a history that has taken women boxing officials from small local bouts to the biggest stages of the sport.
(Edited by Chingkheinganbi Mayengbam)
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