The 3rd day of the Lions Cup International boxing tournament came to an end at the Sugathadasa indoor Stadium yesterday.
It was not the most successful of days for the Sri Lankan team in the ring as the host Pugilists lost 8 out of 12 bouts held on the day. It was a disappointing show for the Lankans as it was a total contrast to the first day’s wonderful show where they won all 4 bouts held that day.
The day however began on a high as Sri Lankan Olympic boxer Anuruddha Rathnayake won his bout in the result of a technical knockout against Kenya’s Simon Mulinge Nzioki in the Flyweight (52 kg) weight category. Anuruddha showed a masterful level of skill and power delivering punch after punch which eventually made the Kenyan “throw in the towel” to end the bout. This being the opening bout for the day, the Sri Lankans hoped that this would set the trend for the bouts to come. This wasn’t the case as PD Suresh took on Ian Clark Bautista of the Philippines in the very next bout in the Flyweight (52 kg) weight category. Suresh was caught lagging while the Philippine boxer held a definite edge over him.
Sri Lanka’s next disappointment came when Olympic boxer Manju Wanniarachchi too lost his bout to Mario Fernandez of the Philippines in the Bantamweight (56 kg) weight category. This knockoff turned out to be an inside fight where both boxers looked to get in close, tried to close the gap between them and then looked to overwhelm each other with a flurry of hooks and uppercuts. The referee had to break a few clinches throughout the bout as both boxers looked to get too close to each other and eventually clinching as the last resort to defend themselves. Maju used quick jabs but the Philippine pugilist was an effective dodger. Both boxers looked to corner the opponent and attack which resulted in an exchange of heavy punches.
N G S Jayaweera took on Yu Cheng Li of the Chinese Taipei in the 4th bout for the day in the Bantamweight (56 kg) weight category. Jayaweera attacked below the belt a few times and Li seemed to suffer throughout the bout as a result kissing the canvas a few times. Gayan was quick, looking to uppercut while the Taipei boxer countered looking to hook. It was a rather surprising decision when Yu Cheng Li was announced winner, nonetheless adding disappointment to the Sri Lankan team and supporters.
Wins for Sri Lanka as PVDDD Saparamadu and RMAB Gunathilake both won their bouts quite convincingly against Singapore’s Ridhwan Ahmad and Belgium’s Miko Khatchatryan respectively both in the Lightweight category. Saparamadu a southpaw boxer preferred to have his opponent at a distance and looked to be a haymaker with flashy hooks while the Singaporean pugilist looked to take advantage of the mistakes of the Sri Lankan. Gunathilake’s bout was a real ‘Barnburner’ as both boxers looked really strong, light on their fear delivering punches from different angles. The Belgium looked to attack and score when clinches were broken and this proved to be an intense battle. The Belgium camp looked really disappointed as the announcement was made to award “Gune” the winner from a split decision from the judges.
Bouts 39 and 40 of the tournament were lost by the Sri Lankan pugilists. Number 39 saw S Nawarathna take on Australian Daniel Emery from the blue corner. In the bout which involved a lot of moving around the Sri Lankan wasn’t the most technically sound but both these men seemed very strong. The Australian especially in defense was solid and it was almost impossible to break through. Suresh was a little flat footed while Daniel was on his toes and light.
M Diwarathna dueled Yu-Ting Yang of the Chiniese Taipei in bout number 40 in the Middleweight (75 kg) weight category. The Tipei boxer was taller than the Sri Lankan and as a result Diwarathna had to get inside while the pugilist Yang looked to attack from a distance. In terms of attack persistence Yang held an edge over the Sri Lankan at the end of the first round but Diwarathna looked to attack from the start of the 2nd round. The Taipei boxer was very strong hooking with immense power and the corner man for Sri Lanka had to throw in the towel to end the bout as a technical knockout to Sri Lanka.
The Women’s bouts began after the short break and Sri Lanka women’s captain Anusha Kodituwakku was the first in the ring from the Red corner facing Yu Ting Lin from the Chinese Taipei. Anusha being an unorthodox boxer punched while clinches were broken and dodged effectively throughout the bout. The Taipei boxer made advantage of the misdirected punches by Anusha and punched quite effectively catching Anusha off guard. Lin at one point seemed to be dirty fighting holding Anusha down and upper cutting hitting the face and breadbasket. It was a break for disappointment as Anusha Kodithuwakku was announced winner.
The festivity continued with the Music blaring at intervals and everyone seemed to be enjoying themselves, coaches and support staff dancing and singing along to music, the supporters dancing and prancing around, even the referees seemed to join the fun; dancing and acknowledging the ‘moves’ in the crowed and trying to imitate them..
It was no time for fun and games for K H A G de Silva though as she took on the strong Sopita Saturam from Thailand. Sopita definitely brought out the Mau Thai warrior within her as she looked to knock out the Sri Lankan pugilist who didn’t look that strong. The Thai boxer was unmerciful as she hooked and delivered immensely strong punches. The Sri Lankan never seemed to have a chance. Keshani was completely out beaten by strength and a professional approach by Sopida. The result wasn’t too shocking, Keshani De Silva lost to Satram on a unanimous decision by the judges.
The final two bouts for the saw Sri Lankans Shiromala Weerrarathna and IWSS Chandrasekara take on Suyeon Choi from Korea and Flora Shen from the Chinese Taipei respectively in the Womens Middleweight (69-75 kg) weight class. It was disappointment after disappointment to end the day as both boxers lost their bouts.
The 3rd day of the tournament was a really tough day in the ring for the Sri Lankan pugilists, the tournament’s international standards definitely starting to show. This is a great opportunity for the Sri Lankans to measure themselves ahead of the Commonwealth games which is to start on the 23rd of August in Scotland.
3rd Day results:
Men’s
Flyweight (52kg) Anuruddha Rathnayake SRI – Winner
Simon Mulinge Nzioki KEN
Flyweight (52kg) Ian Clark Bautista PHI – Winner
PD Suresh SRI
Bantamweight (56kg) Manju Wanniarachchi SRI
Mario Fernandez PHI – Winner
Bantamweight (56kg) Yu-Che Li TPE
NGS Jayaweera SRI – Winner
Lightweight (60kg) PVDDD Saparamadu SRI – Winner
Muhamad Ridhwan Ahmad SIN
Lightweight (60kg) Miko Khatchatryan BEL
RMAB Gunathilake SRI – Winner
Welterweight (69kg) Okwiri Raytow Nduku KEN – Winner
Eumir Felix Marcial PHI
Welterweight (69kg) Chin-Cheng Su TPE
Anas Messaoudi BEL – Winner (Walkover)
Middleweight (75kg) S Nawarathna SRI
Daniel Emery AUS – Winner
Middleweight (75kg) Yu-Ting Yang TPE – Winner
M Diwarathna SRI
Women’s
Flyweight (48-51kg) Anusha Kodituwakku SRI – Winner
Yu Ting Lin TPE
Flyweight (48-51kg) Sopida Saturam THA – Winner
KHAG de Silva SRI
Lightweight (57-60kg) Jana Park KOR
Tassmalee Thongjan THA – Winner
Lightweight (57-60kg) Nesthy Petecio PHI – Winner
Chia Ling Chen TPE
Middleweight (69-75kg) Shiromala Weeraratne SRI
Suyeon Choi KOR – Winner
Middleweight (69-75kg) Dra Flora Shen TPE – Winner
IWSS Chandrasekara SRI
