Explosive talent on display amid no-shows by Army pugilists

There was an explosion of talent on display despite the farce of walkovers and absent for weigh-in resulting in no shows on the third day of the 79th BASL Layton Cup Boxing Tournament at Royal MAS Arena on Thursday.

Organized by the Boxing Association of Sri Lanka, this championship which also serves as a trial to select the final pool for South Asian Games scheduled to be held in Kathmandu, Nepal from December 1 to 9, has attracted 125 men and 37 women boxers. The finals of the tournament will be held today commencing at 3.00 p.m.

In a quarter-final card of 27 bouts, there were no less than eight walkovers or absent results with Army who had fielded about four teams being the main culprits, making a mockery of one of the oldest boxing tournaments in the island. Perhaps it spared spectators the agony of watching a sparring session than a competitive bout which usually happens when players from the same team are pitted against each other.

However, sparks flew in the opening bout of the evening when top seed and reigning national champion in the Light Fly (49kg) weight class Sanjeewa Nuwan of Army had to pull out all stops to defeat Ishanka Sanjaya of Slimline in a heart-warming thriller. It was a classic contest between two accomplished boxers who traded a high volume of punches for nine minutes with no quarter asked or given, with Lance Corporal Nuwan earning a split 3-2 points decision over 23-year-old Sanjaya, one of the finest products of Vidyartha College, Kandy, being a six-time Stubbs winner and having represented Sri Lanka in Asian and World Youth boxing championships in 2014.

The bout which was a stark contrast as Indonesian President’s Cup bronze medallist Gayan Indika Bandara of Navy hardly breaking a sweat to win a split 4-1 points decision against 20-year-old Hussain Ali Mohamed Navith who showed ring acumen to keep the seasoned campaigner at bay. Bandara began slowly before attempting to step up the tempo by aiming left uppercuts to the body. Namith, a product of St. Sylvester’s College, Kandy, who was the Best Boxer at last year’s Junior National Championships, craftily moved around the ring to confuse Bandara but failed to take the fight to his opponent.

There was a classic battle of southpaws in the Bantam (56kg) weight class between Police’s Rukmal Prasanna and Navy’s P.S. Kumara. Best Boxer at the Intermediates meet, 20-year-old Prasanna showed plenty of aggression and courage to battle on with a swollen left eye caused by an accidental head butt to earn a unanimous points decision. Navy’s Nuwan Pradeep de Silva upset Bantamweight third seed Sadaruwan Kumara to win a slugfest by a split decision 4-1.

Another 20-year-old from Gamini National School, Ingiriya, Kuda Vithanage Lasindu Eranga representing Slimline gave an impressive performance against V.D.R. Sanjeewa forcing the Navy corner to throw in the towel in the Fly (52kg) bout. Southpaw Piyal Dharmasena of Army, a bronze medallist at the Indonesian President’s Cup was more destructive, knocking down Handuwala of Vidiyal BC thrice with vicious left uppercuts to the body forcing the referee to stop the contest in the opening round.

There were thrilling contests in the Light (60kg), Light Welter (64kg) and Welter (69kg) contests with southpaw Dinidu Dushan Saparamadu taking the cake with a spectacular knock out of Navy’s N.H. Thilakarathna in the second round. After even exchanges in the opening round, Saparamadu, the top seed in the Light Welterweight, unravelled a perfect right cross that floored the tough sailor. Thilakarathna attempted to bounce back to his feet almost instantly to beat the count but his knees buckled sending him crumbling to the canvas.

“It was a clear case of concussion from the punch. Boxers make the mistake of trying to get up quickly when they are down. I have advised the Navy coaching staff and management to keep him under observation for the next 24 hours,” said ringside physician Dr. Pradeep Kiriella, an AIBA qualified doctor, who treated a prone Thilakaratna.

Results

QUARTERFINALS

Light Flyweight (49kg): M.P.G. Sanjeewa Nuwan (Army) bt Ishanka Sanjaya (Slimline) on points 3-2, A.M.G.I. Bandara (Navy) bt H.M. Navith (Vidyartha BC) 4-1, P.G.E. Madushan (Air Force) bt K.A.S.K. Abeygunawardhana (Army) 3-2, N. Jinadasa (Slimline) bt E.M.N.R. Bandara (Peradeniya BC) 3-2;

Flyweight (52kg): M.V.I.R.S. Bandara (Army) bt H.M.L.P. Jayawardhana (Army) walkover, K.V.L. Eranda (Slimline) bt V.D.R. Sanjeewa (Navy) Abandoned, M.R. Sadaruwan (Slimline) bt P.K.G.K. Raveendranath (Army Blues) 4-1, R.M.P. Dharmasena (Army) bt H.P.M. Handuwala (Vidiyal BC) Referee Stopped Contest round one;

Bantamweight (54kg) Women: P.K.R. Kauwshalya (Thuru) bt K.H. Gamage (Uphill) walkover, W.S.P. Rathnayaka (Police) bt K.A.D. Abeysinha (Sivali) Absent for weigh-in;

Bantamweight (56kg): W.R.T. Weerakkodi (Army) bt H.I. Chamara (Army) Absent, P.A.R. Prasanna (Police) bt P.S. Kumara (Navy) 5-0, N.M.P. de Silva (Navy) bt B.R.L. Sadaruwan Kumara (Army) 4-1, U.N. Amarawansha (Slimline) bt R.M.S. de Silva (Vidyartha BC) 5-0;

Lightweight (60kg): N.B.A.J. Wimukthi Kumara (Army) bt R.M.P.K.K. Rasnayaka (Army Archers) walkover, H.A.H.D. Hettiarachchi (Vidyartha BC) bt M.D. Danushka (Navy) 5-0;

Light Welterweight (64kg): P.V.D.D. Saparamadu (Slimline) bt N.H. Thilakarathna (Navy) knock out round two, K.G. Padhmasiri (Army) bt N.K. Padhmakumara (Army Blues) walkover, W.D.D. Weerasingha (Police) bt P.S.P.S. Fernando (Army) 3-2, P.P.S. Siriwardhana (Army Archers) bt I.P.D.C. Udaya Kumara (Air Force) 3-2;

Welterweight (69kg): H.N.M. Hettiarachchi (Slimline) bt J.A.D. Sampath (Army) 3-2, A.K.C. Madushanka (Army Blues) bt W.K.M.G. Ariyarathna (Navy) 4-1;

Middleweight (75kg) Women: P.U. Jayasuriya (Police) bt M.R.P. Jayakody (Police) RSC round 1;

Middleweight (75kg): D.L.P.R. Kumara (Navy)btH.A.S.N. Heelbathdeniya (Slimline) Abandoned, V. Niklas (Army) bt M.A.C. Sampath Kumara (Army) Absent, H.W.G.P. Rathnasiri (Police) bt K.T. Ramesh (Army Reds) 4-1, P.D.D. Maduranga (Army) bt W.S.K.G. Samarakoon (Army Reds) Absent;

Share on Google Plus

About Unknown

This is a short description in the author block about the author. You edit it by entering text in the "Biographical Info" field in the user admin panel.