Leopards win A.J. Medichem Royal Hockey League
View(s):Royal Leopards, led by experienced forward Hareendra Herath, won the A.J. Medichem Royal Hockey League 2025 by defeating Royal Cheetahs by 1-0 in the final concluded at Colombo International Astro Turf.
The undefeated Leopards met Royal Cheetahs in the Cup finals after defeating Royal Bulls by 1-0 in the semi-finals. There was no breakthrough in the evenly poised final. However, left inside P.M.T.B. Wickremsinghe, who came into the field in the last five minutes of the game scored the winning goal for the Leopards at the 16th minute of the game.
Jubilant Royal Leopards skipper Hareendra Herath receives the A.J. Medichem Royal Hockey League Cup from Dr. Clive James, Director of A.J. Medichem International along with the team. (Standing from left): Aloka Amarasiri, Ravi Hettiarachchi (Manager/Team Owner), Dr. Jayantha Senanayake (Treasurer, RCHC), Sampath Subasinghe, Dr. Clive James (Director, A.J. Medichem International), Hareendra Herath (Captain), Zakir Hussain (Manager, Tender Affairs/Imports - A.J. Medichem International), Shazin Ahamed, P.M.T.B. Wickremesinghe, Senul Liyanage, Ashen Peiris (Squatting from left): Miuru Kariyawasam (Visakha Vidyalaya), Tarinya Weragama (Visakha Vidyalaya), Dineth, Kanishka Obeyesekara (Visakha Vidyalaya), Anjani Koshila (Visakha Vidyalaya)
Runners-up Royal Cheetahs edged Royal Eagles in the semi-final by 1-0. The A.J. Medichem Royal Hockey League (RHL) saw 12 teams including some former Old Royalist national hockey players played. This is the fifth edition of the RHL which was originally started in 2013.
The title sponsor of the tournament was A.J. Medichem International (AJM), one of Sri Lanka’s leading healthcare service providers of modern solutions in the field of neurosurgery, cardiothoracic surgery, vascular surgery, blood transfusion, general surgery, critical care and blood therapeutic products. Clive James, Director of A.J. Medichem International was the chief guest at the closing ceremony and gave away the AJM RHL Cup to Royal Leopards.
Singer Sri Lanka partnered as official jersey sponsor for the AGM RHL 2025 while Lankaila Hotels, Sri Lanka was the official hospitality partner and gave away one-day complementary full-board stay at Oga Reach Yala for best players chosen in the tournament.
Organised by Royal College Hockey Club (RCHC), the 9-a-side tournament was aimed at gathering all past hockey players, at both the international and national level, produced by the Reid Avenue School.
Each team consisted 12 players aged between 16 and 62 years. For the first time in its history, the tournament featured 36 past female hockey players from leading Girls’ Schools in Colombo — Bishops College, Janadhipathi Balika Vidyalaya, Musaeus College and Visakha Vidyalaya. The players were chosen through an auction with franchise-based ownership.
The inaugural edition was held in 2013, followed by three more editions in 2018, 2020 and 2023. The tournament is a platform for all past hockey players of Royal College to rekindle their old memories on the field while strengthening the hockey fraternity for upcoming events such as the Blue and Gold Hockey Sevens, the prestige All-Island 7-a-side Hockey Tournament.
| Results | |
Individual Awards:
Navindu Liyanage
(Janathipathi BV)
|