HOCKEY TEAM STANDS UNBEATEN FOR THE SEASON

 

It has been a good run for the Royal College Hockey Team as their winning streak brings them to the finals of the Western Province Hockey Tournament 2015 with the side taking the title of Champions. The tournament was held from the 1st to the 4th of March at the Astro Turf, Colombo.

The tournament took place with the teams being categorized into groups for the preliminary rounds followed by the latter stages taking the usual structure of knockout rounds. Placed in the group comprising of Wesley College, St.Benadict’s College and Sri Sumangala Vidyalaya, Panadura, the Royal side began the tournament with much eagerness and enthusiasm displaying unparalleled skill and talent.

The first match for Royal took place last Sunday (1st March) against Wesley College, giving Royal a clear upper hand. An intense game in the first half saw both sides safely protecting their posts against any goals. With play resuming after half time from the score of 0-0, Royal’s side was in full rhythm as they gave a tough time to the Wesley side with three astounding goals. Nelaka Wedagama scored two while Shaheer Bari scored the other. The game ended with a clear victory for Royal at 3-0.

The second match against Sri Sumangala Vidyalaya, Panadura which happened on the following day (2nd March) was an equally easy game for the Royal side. Sheer brilliance was showcased by the entire team as they went on to score an early 3-0 during the first half. A continuation of this level of skilled play throughout the match gave Royal a commendable victory of 5-0. Thineth Karunaratne scored 3 goals alongside Shaheer Bari who scored 2 goals.

The same evening saw the third match for the Royal side. Despite a tiring morning after the match, the side displayed some admirable talent once again during this match against St Benedict’s College. The first half saw two goals from the Royal side, followed by two more after half time, bringing an end to the game with the upper hand for Royal at 4-0. Amidst noteworthy support by the entire team, Thineth Karunarathne and Shaheer Bari scored 2 goals each winning the last match for the preliminaries and taking the side to the knockout rounds unbeaten.

The Quarter Finals took place on Tuesday (3rd March) against Ananda College. Royal began with its usual domination of the field as the side scored four goals leaving the Ananda side with shattered hopes and a score of 4-0. Nevertheless the side had a strong retaliation right after halftime with their 2 goals. Royal kept their play up with three more goals being scored. The game ended with a clear win for Royal at 7-2 with Shaheer Bari scoring 3 goals, Thineth Karunarathne scoring 2 goal and Pasindu Charuke and Anojan Ganesharajah scoring 1 goal each.

The semi-finals took place the following day (4th March) against Nalanda College. Once again Royal’s side was on it’s a-game as they showcased some remarkable hockey. Half-time ended with Royal having the upper hand at 4-0, and there after Royal scored two more goals to give a comfortable win of 6-0. The goals for this match were scored by Shaheer Bari who scored 2 goals along with Imaadh Dole, Thineth Karunarathne, Malithra Yoshan and Hasanga Liyanagunawardene who scored 1 goal each.

The finals took place the same evening against D S Senanayake College. Despite some exceptional skill on the Royal side, the game went hand in hand with both sides displaying equal talent at the game. It was a tough time for both teams to defend their goals while taking their best shots to score on the other end. By half-time the game was at 1-1 after halting some intense play. Soon after Royal’s side began to dominate the field as they went on to score 3 more goals while limiting the opponent team’s breakthroughs to one goal. After an outstanding game of hockey, the Royal side emerged victorious at the finals as well with Imaadh dole and Malith Rasanga scoring 1 each beside Thineth Karunarathne who scored 2 goals. The final score stood at 4-2.

Thus Royal College was crowned champions at the Western Province Hockey Tournament 2015.

It must also be mentioned that this same team emerged under 9, under 11, under 15, under 17 and now under 19 Western Province Champions over the years. This team has also emerged as All Island champions in 2013 and the National Schools Champions in 2014. The winning of the National Schools Championship can be considered as the most coveted pinnacle of achievement in schools hockey in Sri Lanka.

In addition this team has also won the Royal Thomian Hockey Encounter for the Orville Abeynaike Memorial Trophy, The Royal Wesley annual Hockey Encounter for the Dudley De Silva Challenge Shield and the Royal Kingswood annual Hockey Encounter for the Lennie De Silva Memorial  Trophy  in 2014.

Also they remained unbeaten throughout the entire season and even emerged victorious at the encounters played against teams from Singapore, Malaysia and Thailand during their tour.

It must also be noted that this year’s team possesses 15 Western Province Coloursmen who are all Royal College Coloursmen as well. Most importantly due credit must be given to the Royal hockey coach, Mr. Rohan Dissanayake, an indivodual with a vast amount of experience whose unabated efforts were another key reason behind the success of the team. The team for this year is led by Malith Rasanga (captain) and Imaadh Dole (vice captain).

Performance at Western Province Tournament

Royal vs Wesley College 3-0
Royal vs Sri Sumangala Vidyalaya 5-0
Royal vs St Benedict’s College 4-0
Royal vs Ananda College (Quarter Finals) 7-2
Royal vs Nalanda College (Semi Finals) 6-0
Royal vs D S Senanayake College (Finals) 4-2