Defending champions St. Sylvester’s College, Kandy (SSCK), along with Royal College, Colombo (RCC), and Mahanama College, Colombo (MCC), have established themselves as leading contenders in the 105th Stubbs Shield Inter-School Boxing Championship, taking place at the Royal MAS Arena.
>>Big-name Boxers step up on Day 3<<
The 105th Stubbs Shield Inter-School Boxing Championship, organized as part of the All Island National School Games by the Education Ministry in partnership with the Schools Boxing Association, showcases nearly 500 boxers from 132 schools competing across 36 weight classes and three age divisions.
Youth international medallists Aazil Murajudeen from Zahira College, Colombo, Heshan Jayasinghe from St. Sylvester’s College, Kandy, and Thenuwan Meegalla from Royal College, Colombo, impressed in Sunday’s Quarter Finals with knockout performances.
>>Mahanama College surprises a few on Day-2<<
Murajudeen (Youth Boy 60kg), a Taipei City Cup silver medallist, demonstrated his power with a first-round knockout against WTR Dias of Sumana Saman Vidyalaya, Rathnapura. Royal Captain Meegalla (Senior Boy 56kg), a Taipei gold medallist, achieved a second-round stoppage win over W. S. Ranasinghe of S. Thomas’ College, Mount Lavinia, in a gripping Royal-Thomian matchup. Meanwhile, Jayasinghe (Senior Boys 69kg), a silver medallist from the Penang Pesta International Boxing Tournament, secured a hard-fought points victory over A. K. D. H. Wijesinghe of Vidyartha College, Kandy.
>>St. Sylvester’s begin Stubbs Shield opener as Vidyarathana stumble early on<<
Royal College, with 19 Stubbs Shield titles to their name, advanced further as N. A. Ahmed (Youth Boy 52kg), K. S. M. Perera (Senior Boy 81kg) and S. D. Jayasooriya (Senior Boy 60kg) reached the Semi Finals. Defending champions St. Sylvester’s College, on a three-year winning streak, continued to assert their dominance with TMRL Tennakoon (Youth Boy 56kg), S. G. M. Azhar (Youth Boy 69kg) and K. G. S. K. Heshan (Senior Boy 60kg) advancing.
Mahanama College’s title aspirations took a hit when H. S. Nambuwasam (Youth Boy 49kg) was knocked out in round two by Thomian W. K. H. M. Wijesinghe. However, Mahanama’s boxers R. I. R. Perera (Junior Boy 50kg), K. A. V. S. Karavita (Junior Boy 54kg), and W. T. L. M. Abeysekera (Junior Boy 46kg) made it to the Semi Finals.
>>Vidyartha and St. Sylvester’s vying for Stubbs Shield glory<<
In the Youth Girls division, standout performances came from Kalani Herath of Gateway College and T. G. M. S. P. Thiththagalla of Hemamali Balika Vidyalaya, Kandy, promising an exciting finale.