Ring rusty boxers hungry to fight for medals
Vidyarathna SC's K.A.K. Hansika (red) in action during the Bantam weight final
Sri Lanka’s top pugilists looked ring rusty but starved of competition they were not lacking in hunger and enthusiasm as boxing returned after more than a year when the Boxing Association of Sri Lanka
(BASL) conducted a Selection Tournament at Royal MAS Arena for the upcoming Asian Championships.
Entries were limited to elite boxers who have won either gold or silver medals at the one of the three major meets – Layton Cup, Clifford Cup or Nationals – and four weight categories each for both men (Light Fly 46-49kg, Fly 49-52kg, Bantam 52-56kg, Light 56-60kg) and women (Light Fly 45-48kg, Fly 48-51kg, Feather 54-57kg, Light 57-60kg). The meet was conducted following strict health protocols without spectators after approval was given from the Sports Ministry’s Medical Unit and Chief Medical Officer of the Colombo Municipal Council. The boxers also had to undergo Antigen tests.
As has been the practice in the recent past, the winners were not declared officially during the finals with the national selectors ‘judging’ the bouts on the sidelines and making their recommendations based on selection criteria such as the ability of the boxers to keep their weight during the meet, physical fitness and their ability to perform at the international boxing tournaments with the probability of winning medals. Weightage was given to competitiveness, tactical skills, technical skills, quality of the punches and domination during the bout.
The men and women boxers of all weight categories were seeded considering their performance at National Championships 2019, Clifford Cup Championships 2019 and Layton Cup Tournament 2019.
Shehani Ilangarathna
In addition to finalisation of boxers for the Asian Boxing Championships 2021, the Selection Committee will also consider this trial meet to build the national pool for future international boxing tournaments, according to BASL president Dian Gomes.
The ASBC Asian Elite Men and Women Boxing Championships was moved from New Delhi, India to Dubai, United Arab Emirates by the Asian Boxing Confederation and will be held from May 21 to June 1.
In the absence of domestic and international competition during the past year because of the COVID-19 pandemic, the BASL has decided to send all seven winners for the Asian meet in a bid to provide them international exposure and the possibility of winning medals.
Sri Lanka’s best bet for medals are the trio from Vidyarathna Sports Club, Horana – K.V.L. Eranda, R.A.N. Pushpakumari and K.A.K. Hansika. Members of the Sports Ministry’s High Performance programme since March, they are trained by Amila Aravinda, who doubles up as HR Manager at Asoka College, Horana apart from his role as a boxing coach.
Only three bouts were contested during the finals with Eranda being the most outstanding performer, outpointing Navy’s Indika Bandara in the semifinals and stopping Air Force’s P.G.E. Madushan in the opening round of the final. Sri Lanka’s leading woman pugilist Hansika outclassed her rival M.G.M.T. Dhasunika of the Army with a second-round stoppage. Ranasinghe received
a walk over from top seed
H.S. Priyadarshani.
The Army has three representatives including a former Police fighter P.A.R. Prasanna, N.B.A.J. Wimukthi Kumara and outstanding Light Fly champion M.P.G. Sajeewa Nuwan. Prasanna outpointed B.R.L.S. Kumara of the Army while Wimukthi Kumara received a walk over from fellow soldier W.R.T. Weeerakkodi. Sajeewa Nuwan was uncontested.
Police’s I.P.R.S. Ilangarathna (women fly weight 48kg) who was also uncontested makes up the seven-member Sri Lanka team for the Asian duel. A past pupil of Bandaranayake Central College, Veyangoda, 24-year-old Rashmika Shehani Illangarathna represented Sri Lanka at the 2015 AIBA World Youth Boxing Championships in Taiwan. Runner-up at the 2018 National Boxing Championships, she has won silver medals at the National Sports Festival in 2018 and 2019.
“Considering that these guys have not taken part in a tournament for more than a year, their standard was not bad. Eranda was the most impressive jarring his opponent twice in the first round with stunning hooks before the referee stopped the bout. Hansika was a clear winner but I feel she should not relax her guard and improve her speed if she is to excel at international meets. She definitely has the potential to win medals but the problem is she has no competition at home,” said a national selector.
Kuda Vithanage Lasindu Eranda, who was Best Loser at the Nationals in 2018 and champion in 2019, is fired up to win a medal and is determined to go the Olympics. A product of Gamini Central College, Ingiriya, the 22-year-old got into his rhythm in the final to stun Madushan. Gold medallist at the ABA Youth Boxing Championships in 2017, he was a bronze medallist at the 2019 South Asian Games (SAG) in Kathmandu.
“I have been training under the guidance of Amila Sir for the past two and half years. Covid did not affect my training. I am mentally relaxed and strong thanks to the coach. I hope to fight in the 54-57kg in future,” said Keshani Hansika, 29, who has been national champion for the past seven years and is unbeaten at home.
She expressed the hope that they could get more international exposure by taking part in tournaments and training camps overseas.
Sri Lanka team for the Asian Champions with coaches Sampath Jayathilake and Amila Aravinda
“I am definitely going to go for a medal,” said Hansika who won a silver medal at the Eindhoven Box Cup in The Netherlands in 2017, is a 2019 SAG bronze medallist, and was placed fifth at the 2017 ASBC Asian Women’s Boxing Championships in Vietnam and 2018 Gold Coast Commonwealth Games.
Best woman boxer at the Nationals for the last two years, Nadeeka Ranasinghe says COVID-19 came as a blessing in disguise. “We had more time for training and TO fine tune our skills,” said the 30-year-old, a sag bronze medallist, whose ultimate goal is going for the Olympics.
Light Fly weight (49kg) national champion Sajeewa Nuwan has outstanding credentials but has yet to convert that potential for a medal in internationals. The 28-year-old whose technical skills in both attack and defence is almost flawless, is a highly motivated individual training individually during the lockdown period before coming under the watch of Army coach Sampath Jayathilake. Nuwan was outstanding in 2019 sweeping all before him in the Layton Cup, Clifford Cup and Nationals and going on to represent Sri Lanka at the SAG, Asian championships and President’s Cup meet in Thailand.
Light weight (60kg) national champion Wimukthi Kumara won a silver medal at the 2016 President’s Cup International Boxing Tournament in Indonesia and bronze medal at the 2019 SAG.
Army has been boosted by new recruit southpaw Rukmal Prasanna, a product of Gamini Central College, Ingiriya who won the Bantam weight (56kg) national title in 2019. “My aim is to win an Olympic medal,” said the 22-year-old attached to the Vijayaba Infantry Regiment who won a bronze medal at the World Youth Boxing Championship in Bulgaria in 2016.