Royal regain Lennie de Silva trophy after six years in Kingswood hockey encounter
View(s):A brilliant reverse stick goal by skipper Yusuf Shihar and two late goals by centre forward Kithmina Ratnatyake helped Royal College beat Kingswood College 3-0 in their annual hockey encounter played for the Lennie de Silva Trophy at the Peradeniya University ground. The Reid Avenue team won the trophy for the first time since 2019.
The both teams played brilliant hockey from the start, bur Royal skipper and left half Yusuf penetrated the Kingswood’s territory and scored a reverse stick goal in the 12th minute of the game. The hosts, Kingswood, fought hard and won many penalty corners in the first half, but Royal defence led by vice captain Aathif Faleel, along with Ruvi Perera, thwarted all the opportunities the Kandy school had.
The jubilant hockey team with the Royal College Principal Athula Wijewardena, Kingswood College Principal Dhammika Herath, and old Royalist Vasantha de Silva (standing far left), son of late Lennie de Silva
Royal led by 1-0 at the halftime. Until the last quarter, the game was evenly poised with Kingswood stepping up its attack. In the fourth quarter, Kithmina Rathnayake scored two goals in quick succession, including from a penalty corner, to finish the encounter with a 3-0 victory. With that, Royal recorded their second win in trophy matches after winning Dudley de Silva trophy against Wesley College.
Royal skipper Yusuf Shihar receives the Lennie de Silva Trophy from Suresh Sumanasekera, the President of the Kingswood Old Boys Union Colombo Branch
Royal, led by Yusuf Shihar, who represented Sri Lankan in Junior Asia Cup in China this year, emerged runners-up in the Western Province Hockey Tournament. The team is coached by veteran Sri Lanka and former Air Force hockey player Damith Panditharatne since 2023.
Royal will be playing against their arch rivals S. Thomas’ College, Mt. Lavinia for the Orville Abeynayake Memorial Trophy and Trinity College for the J.C.A. Corea Memorial Trophy. Royal will host the both matches at the Colombo International Astro Turf.
The winning Royal team included Yusuf Shihar as captain, Aathif Faleel as the vice captain, Lithum Karunasiri, Senul Liyanage, Geesath Bathisa, Ashvin Wettasinghe, Akash Dashendra, Kithmina Ratnayake, Shamael Shakir, Rumal Jayasinghe, Ruvi Perera, Stefan Anthonypillai, Nehan Wijayanayake, Haazim Dhailamy, Pasindu Epa, Aaqil Abdullah, Ronal Edrimanne, Ahmed Fayaz, Sulaiman Shihar and Savain Karunasiri.
In the junior category, Royal Under-16 team won by 3-2 to claim the Kathab Roshan Memorial Trophy while the Under-12 team edged out the Kandy team by 1-0 in an exhibition match. This trophy is named after Lennie de Silva, a distinguished Old Boy of Kingswood College, who holds a pivotal place in Sri Lankan school hockey history. It was him who introduced hockey at Royal College in 1955, laying the foundation for their now-legendary programme.