Royal’s high five on Beira Lake
Royal won their annual regatta for the fifth successive year - Pic by Priyantha Wickramaarachchi
Royal College rowed on the waters of Beira Lake as their oarsmen took the consecutive fifth Royal-Thomian Regatta by racking up 32 points to 20 to retain the Noel Fernando Memorial Trophy at the 50th annual meeting against traditional rivals S. Thomas’ College yesterday.
This winning streak marked the Royal’s dominance in rowing at the silver jubilee celebrations of the country’s longest school Regatta contest.
In the prestigious Boat Race, Royal competing in the inside course, turned round the result after a thrilling battle which saw them take a close advantage all the way up the famous 1000metre course. Both schools were on 20 points each then and were anticipating to finish the deciding Senior Fours, which eventually Royal oarsmen cruised to victory in just three minutes to beat the Thomians, who clocked 3:07, with ease.
The victorious Royal oarsmen with the trophy - Pic courtesy thePapare.com
The victorious Royal crew comprised of Chaniru Hewamanna (Cox), Mayukha Gamage, Sajaad Ajmal (Captain), Maliq Hassen and Jehan Hapugalle outplayed the Mount Lavinia school team of Dharaka Peiris (Captain), Niran Warawitta, Abehishek Nanayakkara, Ashika Rathnaweera and Ashan Walpole (Cox).
Ashika Rathnaweera outsmarted Royal’s Gamidu Tennakoon with a tiny lead, giving a spirited fight in the Senior Scull and Yumin Perera was beaten by a boat’s length lead by S. Thomas’ Abhishek Nanayakkara, to earn an early eight-point lead.
But Royal equaled with the win the of the third event, the Senior Pair, and further extended their lead by 12-8 by claiming the Junior Pair. The Thomians retaliated to equal the points tally at 12-all with the win of the Junior Double Scull.
Royal looked set for a giant kill with the win of the Senior Double Scull, which gave them further eight points to their tally and the lead by 20-12. But the Thomians hit back to equalise the points tally with the win of the Junior Fours, as the final outcome was relied on the result of the Boat Race, claiming 20 points each by then.
Results
Senior Scull: S. Thomas’ (3:34 min) beat Royal (3:41 min) – 6 points to S. Thomas’
Junior Scull: S. Thomas’ (3:42 min) beat Royal (3:47 min) – 2 points to S. Thomas’
Senior Pair: Royal (3:19 min) beat S. Thomas’ (3:23 min) – 8 points to Royal
Junior Pair: Royal (3:30 min) beat S Thomas’ (3:37 min) – 4 points to Royal
Junior Double Scull (2x): S. Thomas’ ( 3:12 min) beat Royal (3:14 min) – 4 points to S. Thomas’
Senior Double Scull (2x): Royal (3:18 min) beat S. Thomas’ (3:24 min) – 8 points to Royal
Under-16 Four: S. Thomas’ (3:24 min) beat Royal (3:30 min) – no pointed added
Junior Four: S. Thomas’ (3:03 min) beat Royal (3:05 min) – 8 points to S. Thomas’
Old Boys Four (only 500m): Royal (1:51 min) beat S. Thomas’ (1:55 min) – no points added
Boat Race: Royal (3:00 min) beat S. Thomas’ (3:07 min) – 12 points to Royal