Royal beat Wesley to bag Dudley de Silva Trophy

The winning Royal College team comprising (back row) Prabath Gallage (Senior Master in Charge-Hockey), Kithmina Ratnayake, Lithum Karunasiri, Geesath Bathisa, Ruvi Perera, Ashvin Wettasinghe, Nehan Wijayanayake, Akash Dashendra, Damith Panditharatne (Coach), Aathif Faleel (Vice Captain), Yusuf Shihar (Captain), Senul Liyanage, Yasiru Prashan, Avanka Fernando (Principal, Wesley College) and Krishantha Silva (Senior Deputy Principal, Royal College). Genuflecting: Ronal Edirimanne, Rumal Jayasinghe, Aaqil Abdullah, Haazim Dhailamy, Pasindu Epa, Savain Karunasiri, Ahmed Fayaz, Sulaiman Shihar, and Stefan Anthonypillai

By Susil Premalal

Royal College regained their dominance in hockey as they defeated Wesley College 4-0 to win the Dudley de Silva Trophy at Reid Avenue as Lithum Karunasiri scored a hat-trick of goals.

Royal, runners-up in the recently concluded Western Provincial hockey tournament, started as favourites and lived up to expectations. Led by skipper Yusuf Shihar, who represented Sri Lanka in the Junior Asia Cup in China this year, the Reid Avenue side displayed superiority in attack, defence and control of the game. 

Royal led 2-0 at halftime with Karunasiri scoring twice in the first quarter. Rumal Jayasinghe added another in the third quarter and Karunasiri completed his hat-trick in the final quarter, earning him the Best Player award.

The victory marked the first of four major annual hockey encounters for Royal, with matches against Kingswood, Trinity and traditional rivals St. Thomas’ lined up. In the junior Under-14 category, Royal cruised to an emphatic 8-0 win over Wesley.

The Dudley de Silva Trophy, inaugurated in 2007, honours the late Dudley Kenneth George de Silva, former Principal of Royal College from 1954 to 1966. A visionary educationist, he transformed the school’s sporting and cultural

landscape by introducing rowing, hockey, basketball, rifle shooting, and numerous clubs and societies. 
Since the inception of the trophy, Royal has enjoyed consistent success, with notable wins in 2015, 2017, and 2018.