St. Sylvester’s edge closer to Stubbs Shield triumph

 Action from the Stubbs Shield Meet

(Pic courtesy ThePapare)

By Susil Premalal

Defending champions St. Sylvester’s College, Kandy, delivered a series of powerful performances, dashing Royal College, Colombo’s title hopes at the 105th Stubbs Shield Inter-Schools Boxing Championship, held at the Royal MAS Arena in Colombo.

Organised as part of the All-Island National School Games by the Education Ministry alongside the Schools Boxing Association, the event attracted nearly 500 boxers from 132 schools across 36 weight classes and three age group divisions.

The two schools faced off in intense semi-final bouts with St. Sylvester’s securing an advantage by advancing six boxers to the finals, compared to Royal’s four, positioning them for an 18th Stubbs Shield title and their fourth consecutive win.

The highlight of the day was Sylvestrian K. G. S. K. Heshan’s explosive first-round knock-out of Royalist Devnaka Jayasooriya in the Senior Boys 60kg category, sparking excitement among fans.
Royal countered with a win by their junior international Malith Bandara, who outmaneuvered Sylvestrian T. M. C. L. Thennakoon in the Senior Boys 75kg class, using deft footwork and counter-punching to neutralise Thennakoon’s aggression.

Sylvestrian S. P. P. Angelo (Senior Boys 52kg), awarded Best Boxer at the Novices Meet, earned a hard-fought win over Nalanda College’s G. K. S. Hasindu.

Teammates T. M. R. L. Thennakoon (Youth Boys’ 56kg) and S. G. M. Azhar (Youth Boys 69kg) added to St. Sylvester’s momentum while Gold Medallist Heshan Jayasinghe (Senior Boys’ 69kg) won convincingly.

Royal Captain and youth international Thenuwan Meegalle led his team’s effort with a commanding performance, as Vice-Captain Ahsan Ahmed pulled off a close 3-2 split decision against Vidushan Hettiarachchi of D. S. Senanayake College in the Youth Boys 52kg division.

Sahan Perera also kept Royal’s hopes alive, defeating Y. N. Bulathgama of Ananda College in the heavyweight Senior Boys’ 81kg class.

Standout boxers included D. N. B. Dulnada (Junior Boys’ 46kg) and W. A. J. Dhananjaya (Junior Boys’ 48kg) from Vidyarathna University College, K. A. V. S. Karavita (Junior Boys’ 54kg) of Mahanama College, Colombo, and Zahira College’s Aazil Murajudeen (Youth Boys’ 60kg).

In other notable bouts, Anuk de Silva (Senior Boys 52kg) of S. Thomas’ College, Ronal Weerasekera (Senior Boys’ 52kg) and Wattegama Central’s U. G. M. R. Keerthisinghe (Senior Boys 75kg) showcased their skills.

In the Youth Girls Division, Kalani Herath of Gateway College (54kg) was upset by G. G. N. A. Gimhani of Sri Pragnaratne Central College.

Hemamali Balika Vidyalaya’s Punsara Thiththagalla (Youth Girls’ 54kg) and Chathu Siriwardena (Senior Girls 48kg) dominated their bouts and from Northern Province, L. Kagenthini (Senior Girls’ 54kg) of Poonthondam Vidyalaya, Vavuniya stood out with an exceptional performance.