Boxing is one of the oldest sports in Royal College, Colombo
A cute memento in the form of a porcelain mug, with the event inscribed was presented to all past boxers who attended the momentous occasion
Boxing, the contact sport with colonial overtones, was introduced to the school in 1913 by Donald Obeysekere
Last year Royal College celebrated 110 years in boxing. This sport is is one of the oldest disciplines practised at Royal College, Colombo. According to the “History of Royal College– 1985 – 2010”, written by a distinguished old boy, Larlasri Fernando, the school founded in 1835 by Rev. Joseph Marsh, was first known as the Hill Street Academy and housed on Wolfendall Street, Colombo. It became the Colombo Academy in January 1836, when it was shifted to San Sebastian Hill. Thereafter in 1881 under Principal J.B. Cull, with the patronage of the then colonial government Colombo Academy changed its name to Royal College as it moved to Colombo 07, to the Colombo university premises and later to the present location.
Boxing, the contact sport with colonial overtones, was introduced to the school in 1913 by Donald Obeysekere, the father of Danton Obeysekera, a Cambridge university boxing Blue and without doubt the doyen of Boxing in Sri Lanka.
Cricket is the oldest sport in Royal and the sport was introduced at this school in 1876 by Ashley Walker, a teacher in the school, who was a Cambridge Blue.
The first Bradby Shield rugby encounter between Royal and Trinity College Kandy was in 1920. Rugby was also introduced to college about the time as boxing.
Last year was so special for Royal because it marked boxing’s 110th year of existence in the school.
The anniversary was held on Saturday the 9th of December 2023 at the Cavalry Officers’ Mess at the Sri Lanka Army Armoured Corps at Rock House Camp at Modera, Colombo 15.
The event was organised by the Royal College Boxing Advisory Council, whose chairman is former Army Commander General (Retd.) Jagath Jayasuriya. Gen. Jayasuriya’s guidance and leadership led to the 110th Anniversary celebrations becoming a reality, in the context that boxing in Royal had hit the doldrums in the recent past. The occasion was graced by the present Principal Thilak Wattuhewa, the senior Games Master and Assistant Principal Riyaz Aluher and the Master in charge of boxing T.M.R.N. Bandara.
A cute memento in the form of a porcelain mug, with the event inscribed was presented to all past boxers who attended the momentous occasion.
Photographs were taken of all the past Captains; those who represented the country in boxing and the boxers who had won the senior best boxers’ trophy.
The Army band was in attendance and provided music to entertain the guests.
The anniversary celebrations merits mention of some of our past outstanding boxing personalities, who stand out as glaring icons in Royal college boxing history. They were Danton Obeysekere, his father Donald Obeysekere, the founder of Boxing in college, Barney Henricus, Alex Obeysekere, Frederick Obeysekere, Eddie Gray, Metha Abeygunawardena, Rahula Silva, Saman Samaratunga and M.A. Jayalath, N.R. Tillekeratne, Jagath Jayasuriya, late Lt. Hisham Ousman, Aubrey Peiris, M. Nisthar and Abdulla Ibunu of a more contemporary era from 1970s onwards, to the present.
Present on this historic moment were old boy boxers from several past eras. As an act of appreciation and for fostering of boxing in their alma mater, the following were the attendees, to mark the historic occasion:
1960 – 1970: Commodore GES de Silva, Metha Abeygunawardena, Saman Samaratunga, KTP De Silva, MS Fernando,
1970 – 1980: Wazir Sourjah, Gen. Jagath Jayasuriya, YD Weerasooriya, M.A. Jayalath, Rohan Abeywardena, Nimal Jayasuriya, Shantha kumara, Refai Buhary, Nalin Dayasagara, Rukmal Nanayakkara, DCL Ketagoda, Anura Uduwaraarchchi, Prasad Majeed, Sunanda Godawithana, Shamrath Fernando, T. Sopaka, Ajith Bopitiya,
1980-1990: Maj. Gen. Rajitha Ampemohotti, Sidath Tillakaratna, Allaam Ousman, Aubrey Peiris, Don Weerasinghe, Buddhima, Chandima Gunarathna, Herath Bandara, T.W. Herath, R.S. Kumarapperuma and Maj. R. Rajapakse.
1990 – 2000: Lakshman Amarasekera, Dhanushka Ekanayake, Muditha Cooray, Kanchana Ayantha,Sameera Deshapriya, Rasika Amarasinghe, Ranil Sanjeewa, Indika Kuruppuarchchi, Sumeda Perera and S.Manoharan.
2001 – 2010; Sanka Manamperi, Pivithuru Rathnayake, Danushka Weerakkody, Visitha Wijesekera, Chatura Kathriarachchi, Supun De Silva, Sampath Wijayanath, Sudara Suren, Charana Bandara, M. Nishthar, Champika Gunasekara, Asanka Kumarasiri, Niroshan Deddenigama, M.N. Omar, Buddika Prasasd, Dhanushka Wijekoon, Manamendra Badhraka, M. Wasim, Manijitha Fonseka and Amila Nakandala.
2011-2022: Ajith De Silva, Sanjeewa Wimalasena, Banuka Nayanajhith, Rasika Panditharathna, Nisal Sedawaththa, K Sindujan, Viswa Panapitiya, Uvindu Jayasinghe, Saiyaf Farouk and Madani Musthapha.
2023 Boxing team: U.S.M.Ahsan– present boxing captain, H.A.V. Perera, Ibunu Abdulla (Head coach), Esanda Bimsara and Rizwan Jamaldeen – coach.
The Boxing Advisory under the leadership of Gen. Jagath Jayasuriya is planning to streamline the administration of boxing along with the collaboration of the Royal Boxing Club (RBC), by setting up guidelines and procedures and to familiarise, the student boxers and the boxing captain and the secretary and those senior boxers due to succeed in leadership roles in the future. In this, the areas of keeping proper records of the boxers, their achievements, the challenge trophies in the custody of the school and the conduct of the annual inter house boxing meet for the Obeysekere Shield.
These initiatives will give the student boxers in the school practical organizational and administrative exposure, in addition to learning boxing skills.
The boxing advisory is also planning a much-needed fund raiser to augment financial obligations to improve the sport in the school by holding a musical show, a Singalong by Chandimal, the “Tribute to Legends” on Sunday the 3rd of March 2024 at the Bishops College auditorium. The advisory committee is hopeful that the sports fraternity of Royal College, the boxing fraternity in Sri Lanka and well-wishers would rise to the occasion to make the event a success.
(Sent by Wazir Sourjah, Royal College Boxing Captain – 1973)
