The Dr. R.L. Hayman Trophy is the most anticipated boys’ water polo encounter, the battle for victory between Royal College and S. Thomas’ College, and both legs proved to be equally as thrilling. The Sugathadasa Swimming Pool was alive with the flags of black and blue, blue and gold. Following the first leg, where S. Thomas’ College was in the lead in the Junior match, and Royal College being four goals ahead in the Senior match. Thus, both teams had all to fight for on the 5th of October.
The U-15 match was an exciting as its counterpart the week before, but it was S. Thomas’ College who never fell behind, causing the margin between the two schools to increase. The final goals went in this school’s favour, 9 goals with 35% shooting accuracy, whereas, Royal College put up 8 goals, with a 28% shooting accuracy. While the former school conceded 6 exclusions, the latter school conceded 3 penalties and 2 exclusions. It was the school of black and blue who immensely pleased their home crowd with their win, bringing out the potential that they have as they continue their years of playing this sport. The goalie from S. Thomas’ College, Yash Desimone, must be commended for his precision in the goal. Sulaiman Shihar, for Royal College, displayed his strength through the many goals he scored for his side.
However, in the U-19 match, it was Royal College, unlike their junior team, who were heading into the second leg of the senior match with a four goal advantage. The weather stayed intact as well, for unlike the downpour seen in the first leg, the skies were clear, as if understanding the intensity of the atmosphere as both sides held their breath with anticipation. In the first quarters, there were only a few goals to separate the two teams as the goals were evenly matched. Yet, similar to the difference in the first leg, the second leg of this encounter also showed a four-goal deficit, as Royal College ended the match with 12 goals with a 41% shooting accuracy.
It was in the latter half of the U-19 match that Royal College showed their dominance and started pulling ahead by a significant margin, one moment of the match showing a 9–goal difference between them and the three goals of S. Thomas’ College. S. Thomas’ College put up a total of 8 goals, with a 29% shooting accuracy, lacking the ability to bridge the gap of the first leg and falling behind in this leg too. However, Talib Mansoor, the captain of S. Thomas’ College, as well as players such as Nehemiah Krishnaswamy and the rest of the team put up a strong fight against their opposition, which proved to be inadequate to secure this year’s victory.
Led by Mihin Wanigasekara for Royal College, the captain showed his selflessness by ensuring that his teammates recieved the ball at the most opportune times to score- Dimeetri Liyanage showed his excellent performance in the pool, as well as their goalie, Vinuda Somakeerthi. Thus, Royal College proved why they were deserving of the win through the manner in which they made sure that the match was comfortably in their hands throughout the latter quarters, working not only hard in the water, but also working smart. Thus, we congratulate them on their victory.
Royal College also had two exclusions, while S. Thomas’ College had five, a significant increase since the first leg. Yet, the former school conceded one penalty, while the other conceded two. Hence, it was the Royal outfit that celebrated in the pool, accompanied by the uproars of their supporters filling the stands, as the final clock wound down. This year, it will be Royal College who has taken home the Dr. R. L. Hayman trophy after a period of two years, much to the disappointment of the S. Thomas’ players, who would have no doubt been looking to extending their streak.
In this time’s second leg, it is evident that it was the same winners from the first leg of both matches who was able to secure the victory in the second leg. Thus, Royal College was able to pull through for a 10th win in the 31st edition of the Dr. R. L. Hayman Trophy 2024. Overall, it proved to be an utterly thrilling second leg to match its counterpart the week before, and both teams must be commended on their performances.
The Royal-Thomian Trophy for the U-13 match was secured by Royal College, after their complete domination in the first leg. Consequently, the Mahinda Liyanage Challenge Trophy was awarded to the U-15 Team of S. Thomas’ College for their victory, collected by their captain, Dinuk Wickremasinghe. Royal College Group of ‘92 Challenge Trophy for the Most Outstanding Player was awarded to none other than the captain of Royal College, Mihin Wanigasekara, a testament to his excellent performance in the waters as a player as well. Finally, the beaming Royal outfit walked away with the 31st Dr. R. L. Hayman Trophy, breaking the 2-year winning streak of their opposition.
Both legs of this action were shown live on Sri Lanka’s No. 1 Sports Channel – The Papare, making you a part of this exhilarating event- available on Dialog Television (Ch.126), Dialog Viu App and ThePapare.com website.
