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Cup boys champs SJC
Cub girls champs HFC
St. Joseph College, Colombo and Holy Family Convent, Wennappuwa emerged unbeaten Cup champions at the ESOFT Blue & Gold Hockey sevens organised by Royal College Hockey Club last week at Reid Avenue.
Both teams have won the title for the first time in the history of 18 Blue & Gold Hockey 7s which has been held from 1992. The ESOFT Metro Campus was the title sponsor for this year’s tournament, which was held for the first time since 2019.
The Darley Road boys won the ESOFT Blue & Gold Hockey 7s by beating St. Thomas College, Matale by 2-0 in the final of the 146-game tournament. At lemons SJC led by 1-0.
Both teams fought hard, but Joes’ Abner Fernando broke the STC Matale defence line in the 6th minute through a 3D airball and passed to skipper Keith Joshua to score the first goal for the winners by lofting the ball to the net.
After the break, Adrian Fernando of SJC scored in the 12th minute of the game in a penalty corner to increase the lead to 2-0.
The STC Matale’s fight was not enough in the face of fierce attack by SJC.
The Joes won against this year’s tournament favourites Kingswood College, Kandy by 1-0 in the semifinals, beat Ananda College in the quarter finals by 2-0 in the penalty strokes after 1-1 draw, and Vidyartha College, Kandy by 3-2 in the pre quarter finals.
In their group stages, Joes won 6-0 against Maristella College, Thimbirigaskatuwa and held a 0-0 draw with St. Aloysius College, Galle.
St. Thomas College, Matale upset their Mount Lavinia counterpart by 2-0 in the semifinals, beat Hindu National Schools Matale by 2-0 in the quarter finals in penalty stroke after a scoreless finish, won by 2-0 in penalty strokes in the pre quarter finals against neighbour School Christ Church College, Matale.
In the girls Cup finals, Holy Family Convent Wennappuwa beat Ladies College, Colombo by 2-0. The Wennappuwa team scored the goals within the first three minutes of the game with Ishara Fernando and Tharushika Subasinghe scoring a goal each within the first three minutes of the game.
HFC won against their finalist Ladies College in the league stage by 1-0 and beat Rathnawali Balika Vidyalaya by 4-0 before beating Yasodhara by 1-0 in the pre quarter finals, Vishaka by 2-0 in the quarter finals and Swarnamali Balika by 1-0 in the semifinals.
This year’s tournament saw a record number of 66 teams (42 boys and 24 girls) taking part in Sri Lanka’s largest hockey tournament played for two days.
The Blue & Gold Hockey Sevens was also supported by Platinum Sponsor NDB Bank, Gold Sponsors: Minel Lanka, CIAP, Secvision Ltd., R&R Fine Gems, A N A Marine Agencies Ltd., and Anchor, Broadcasting Partner ThePapare, Umpire Sponsor LTL Holdings, and Food & Beverage Sponsor: Thambapanni.
Results and special awards
Cup Champions:
Boys - St Joseph’s College
Girls - Holy Family Girls School, Wennappuwa
Boys - St Thomas’ College Matale
Girls - Ladies’ College, Colombo
Boys - St Thomas’ College Mt Lavinia
Girls - Swarnamali Girls College Kandy
Boys - Kingswood College
Girls - Christ Church College
Plate Championship:
Boys - Ananda College
Girls - Seethadevi Balika Vidyalaya
Boys - Zahira College Matale
Girls - Visakha Vidyalaya
Boys - Hindu College Matale
Girls - Bishop’s College
Bowl Championship:
Boys - Trinity College
Girls - Panadura Balika Maha Vidyalaya
Boys - Vidyartha College
Girls - Yasodara Balika Vidyalaya Colombo
Boys - Vijaya College
Girls - St Anthony’s Girls College Katugastota
