The Men & Women National Boxing Championship 2014 got under way on the 10th of September and has come to the final stages with the last events being worked off today at the Sugathadasa Indoor stadium.
The event was on a low key this year however there was no shortage of the entertainment and talent within the 4 rings in the premises given that the semifinals which were held yesterday brought out the best in most of the pugilists who qualified.
The opening women’s bout for the day was in the 48kg weight category bout between J A D Jayasinghe of MASS-A and W H M S R Herath of Sri Lanka Army B. It was an exciting bout from the start however Jayasinghe did seem to have the edge over her opponent. She was very tactical and was light on her feet moving around her opponent and not letting her settle down. Jayasinghe qualified to the finals beating Herath 3 rounds to nil.
The bout between Nadeeka Pushpakumari of Thulhiriya Boxing club A and K M D Sanjani of MASS-B in the 48kg weight category was an eyed semifinal and the spectators got what was expected as this bout was intense from the start. Pushpakumari was excellent in her close range attacks where she allowed her opponent to come close to her, to her range and then attack and score. This tactic she followed undoubtedly helped her win the bout on unanimous decision.
In the Men’s semifinals, among the most anticipated bouts was the bout between M M Pushpakumara a national champion and HMSP Gamage in the Light Fly (49kg) weight category. Pushpakumara who was the favourite to win the bout took advantage from the start where Gamage seemed to be playing catch up. He seemed to over anticipate and paid the price getting in the way of some musty blows from Pushpakumara who finally walked away winner of the bout and through to the finals to take place today.
Another favorite in the meet was PD Suresh who failed to deliver to expectations as he lost his semifinal bout to BGRI Wanasooriya of Slimeline B in the Fly weight (52 kg) category 3 rounds to nil. It was a surprise outburst by Wanasooriya which left Suresh stunned and he couldn’t seem to get himself back into to the competition as Warnasooriya was masterful in his uppercut and wasn’t afraid to go for the glorified punches.
The final day of the 89th ABA National boxing championships is to take place today at the Sugathadasa Indoor stadium with the Final bouts to commence at 4.00 p.m.
