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Layton Cup boxing
Slimline’s killer punch
By M. Shamil Amit
Slimline boxers dominated the Layton Cup boxing meet that concluded at the Sugathadasa Indoor Stadium yesterday. Of the 11 finals held yesterday, Slimline had seven of their boxers entering and being successful in all of them. Army had nine boxers entering the finals but they were able to win only one.

This being the first selection trial for the South Asian Games 2006, the majority of boxers winning from a club was immaterial. The ultimate to be chosen would be the best boxer and loser. Slimlines S.I. Kumara was adjudged the best boxer while W.M.C.S. Bandara of the Police was the best loser.

The first bout of the day was the Super Heavyweight over 91kgs which was a closely contested fight between Al Hansar of Army and D.P.M.H. Dharmasiri of Navy which ended in a close 18-14 win for the latter. This was followed by the Heavyweight category Under 91 kgs between Army's H.M.S.P. Wanninayake and Air Force's R.M.S.N. Bandara.

Army's Wanninayake was too good for his opponent as he coasted to an easy 22-14 victory. The Light Heavyweight Under 81kgs between J.N.D.N. Jayasinghe of Police and H.A.J.K. Meewala of Army was stopped in the second round in favour of Jayasinghe. It was the same fate in the Middleweight Under 75kgs between two Army boxers P.R.D.A. Fernando and H.P.S. Weeratunge with the referee stopping it in the second round in favour of the former.

S.I. Kumara of Slimline recorded an easy 26-15 win over W.M.C.S. Bandara of Police in the Welterweight Under 69kgs while another Slimline boxer W.M.R. Wekadapola got the better of A.G.N. Bandara of Army in the Light Welterweight Under 64kgs and Slimiline's R.M.U. Bandara received a walk over in the Lightweight Under 60kgs as his opponent W.R.G.G. Weligalla of Army was declared medically unfit.

Slimline boxers continued their supremacy when A.K.G.K. Sameera and Kings Cup silver medalist Manju Wanniarachchi out-boxed their opponents in the Featherweight Under 57kgs and Bantamweight Under 54kgs. Sameera ousted Police's R.M.U.M. Ratnayake 41-14 while Wanniarachchi knocked out Air Force's A.B. Weeraparakrama in the second round.

Last year's winner of the Layton Cup H.P. Jayantha Kumara of Army ate the humble pie at the hands of another Slimline boxer R.M.A.B. Ratnayake in the Flyweight Under 51kgs being defeated by 22-14. T.B. Harsha Kumara made seven out of seven for Slimline when he out-boxed S.A.M. Chandrasekera of Army in the Lightweight Under 48kgs which was the last bout of the day.

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