Sri Lanka will take part in the Asian Youth Boxing Championship. Organized by the ASBC the Asian Youth Boxing Championships will be hosted from the 24th – 31st January for the year 2014 in Bangkok, Thailand.
Record number of youth athletes to be expected to take part in the upcoming ASBC Asian Youth Continental Championships in Bangkok where the top nations of the continent such as Kazakhstan, Uzbekistan, India, Iran and China are planning to send maximum number of ten boxers to this significant event. The host nation Thailand, Kyrgyzstan, Turkmenistan and Mongolia will have huge delegations been a part of this event.
Among the developing nations Indonesia, Jordan, Macau, Malaysia, Nepal, Palestine, Pakistan, and Vietnam will be there in the championships while Syria also will be able to send a delegation to Bangkok in spite of the political crisis in the country and has got medal expectations.
The Sri Lankan team comprises of three outstanding school boxers. WAI Sanjaya of the 49Kg weight category is a production of Vidyartha College Kandy. Seventeen year old Sanjay, entered the boxing ring been the Gold winner of the leading schools boxing tournaments held from 2009 to 2013. He is the four time gold medal winner of prestigious Stubbs Shield Championships in 2009 to 2011 and 2013. He was awarded the best boxer at the ABA Cadet championships in 2011 and at the Stubbs shield in 2013.
The two brothers Prabath Chanuka & Shammith Banuka will take their places at the Youth Championships this year representing the weight categories of 52Kg & 56Kg. Been a production of Vidyarathana University college Horana these siblings have exhibited exceptional talents at several leading tournaments in national level. Prabath was the winner of the Silver at the Youth Championships and Stubbs Shield boxing Championship held in 2012 whilst Shammith stole the Gold from his twin. Shammith been ahead of Prabath has travelled a long way in the journey of boxing. Winning the Gold at the Stubbs shield for 3 consecutive years from 2011 to 2013 and Youth Boxing Championships in 2012 he placed his mark in the history of school boxing. These twins will enter the ring with mush intention of crowning our land in Gold.
Sri Lanka been an active share of this event over the past years, this year once again the ABA is directing a team towards Bangkok. The Executive Committee of the ABA has approved the selection of below Youth Boxers to be sent for this tournament based on their performance at the Trial meet held on from 23rd to 25th November 2013 at Royal College, Colombo.
Mr Susantha Weerasena has been nominated to accompany this contingent as manager whilst Amila Aravinda who is the present Slimline Coach and the coacher of Vidyarathana University College and Bandula Wickramasinghe of Vidyartha College, Kandy will act as coaches of the team.
