A golden moment in Lankan boxing
If there was an award for the Most Special Moment at the Lion’s Cup International Boxing Tournament it probably would have been when Sri Lanka’s wily veteran Anuruddha Rathnayake sent his Filipino opponent Ian Clark Bautista tumbling to the canvas in their flyweight championship bout. Standing there majestically near the centre of the ring, soaked in a heavy downpour of applause, Rathnayake had just delivered the perfect gem to cap off a truly glittering competition.
Anusha Kodituwakku in action
The former Olympian’s victorious performance did not win him Best Boxer status- that honour went to his compatriot Mohamed Dilshan- but it most certainly would have won him scores of new fans amongst the hundreds that piled into the Sugathadasa Indoor Stadium on Friday to watch the final day of the Lion’s Cup.
“It was a really good experience. We have waited 40 years to have an international tournament here so it was a positive thing for boxing in Sri Lanka, being able to face fighters from 11 other countries. The standard of boxing too was very high,” Rathnayake said.
Rathnayake revealed that training for the tournament went smoothly for the Sri Lankans and they benefited greatly from the significant insight of their Cuban coach, Frometha Mathos.
The results of this ample preparation were only too clear to see, as the Lankans swept the event’s awards, with the Best Female Boxer (Anusha Kodituwakku, flyweight 51 kg) and Overall Winner prizes adding to Dilshan’s top male pugilist title.
Kodituwakku, who has for so long held the reputation for being the country’s leading female fighter, was made to work hard against Sopida Saturam from Thailand to eke out her win, while Dilshan exchanged some solid blows with Kenya’s Dennis Okuth in his march to a light welterweight title.
M.Dilshan throws a jab at his Kenyan opponent. Pix by Ranjith Perera
Meanwhile in two all-Lankan finals, P. Saparamadu’s superior movement scored him an edge against R. Gunathilake in the Men’s Lightweight final while M. Prabashwara outhit P. Madushan to claim gold in the Men’s Lightweight division.
Tournament Committee Chairman Dian Gomes was arguably as active as his boxers during their fights, shouting advice into their ears from their corners and frequently scuttling about ringside making sure everything was in order.
He commented that the tournament had exceeded his expectations, saying,” It was a fantastic competition. Dilshan, Rathnayake and Kodi (Kodituwakku) did really well and overall the experience it gave each of our boxers was great. We are hoping to make this an annual tournament but we will have to see how things progress.”