Kandy and Wennapuwa joint champions in Junior Nationals Men’s hockey

By Susil Premalal

Kandy Hockey Association (KHA) and Wennappuwa Hockey Association (WHA) emerged joint champions at the 43rd Hockey Junior Nationals Men’s Championship 2023 at Peradeniya University Ground.  

Wennappuwa HA last won the Junior Nationals Hockey tournament in 2019. The Junior Nationals Men’s Tournament conducted by the Sri Lanka Hockey Federation (SLHF) after 2019 was interrupted by rain even before the start of the match and the SLHF Tournament Committee took steps to declare both teams as joint champions.   This year, 13 District Association teams participated in the Junior Nationals Men’s Hockey Tournament.    In the semi-finals, Kandy HA beat Colombo HA 2-1 and Wennappuwa HA beat Matale HA 4-2. 
Meanwhile, Colombo HA beat Matale HA to claim third place.  

In the quarter-finals, Kandy beat Combined University 2-0, Wennappuwa beat Mercantile 2-0, Colombo beat Kalutara 1-0 and Matale beat Sri Lanka Schools (A) 1-0.