Royal completes another golden year of hockey on its diamond jubilee

From left: Shaheer Bari, Badra Sharmalee (Teacher in Charge), Sudath Liyanagunawardena (Asst.Principal – co-curricular activities),  Malith Rasanga (Captain), Upali Gunasekera (Former Principal), Imaad Dole (Vice Captain),  Priyantha Wijesiri (MIC), Rohan Dissanayake (Coach)

Standing first row (from left): Hasanga Liyanagunawardena, Ranchana Abeyratne, Nelaka Wedagama Adheesha Perera, Vindula Jayalath, Thineth Karunaratne

Standing second row (from left): Pasindu Charuke, Sachin Dissanayake, Furkhan Irfan, Sajana De Soyza, Sharounthan Balenthiren, Anojan Ganesharaja, Manjitha De Silva, Gowthamn Kirubakaran, Sajad Irshad

Royal College has undoubtedly been the headlining school in hockey, looking back at the year 2015, winning almost every title that stood before them, completing another grand year of success when the sport is celebrating its diamond jubilee in the school.

2015 was a great year for Royal as they rewrote the history books with every passing game, shattering previous records and goal tallies, displaying the dominance of the star-studded Royal line up.

Royal College introduced hockey in 1955 with the help of Lennie de Silva, a past Kingswoodian, who led the challenge of starting hockey at the school as the master in charge.

They began with winning the under-19 Western Province hockey tournament, which Royal outclassed St. Benedict’s, Prince of Wales, Ananda and St. Joseph’s before edging out Wesley in the semifinals to play the final against the defending champions D.S. Senanayake College. DS fought well in the final to have 1-1 at half time, but Royal won the game 4-2 ending up as unbeaten champions following a half time pep talk by their trainer and former national coach Rohan Dissanayake.

The team then smashed Wesley College in the coveted Dudley K.G. De Silva Memorial Shield encounter with a monstrous score of 9-1 and then outclassed Trinity College by a more stunning victory to retain the J.C.A. Corea Memorial Trophy with the same score line. The swift movements and great passing amongst the Royal players was a spectacle as they ran riot. The biggest challenge came from the Reid Avenue school’s archrivals S. Thomas’ College Mount Lavinia. The Thomians did well to end the Orville Abeynaike Memorial Trophy encounter though they lost by 1-2. The Royalists pulled out a win at the nail-biting final moment with a late goal from Royal fresher Pasindu Charuke. The blue and gold jersey boys then outplayed Kingswood College 4-0 to retain the Lennie De Silva Memorial Trophy.

Royal Hockey secured all titles in the encounters against other schools in their big matches whilst emerging champions in the Western Province under-18 tournament for the third consecutive year and also emerging second runners up at the Blue and Gold Hockey Sevens. The junior sides also matched their seniors with dazzling performances against Kingwood College and Trinity College securing both the Kathab Roshan Memorial Trophy and the Paul Jeyaraj Trophies respectively.

The pressure was on the Reid Avenue boys to produce a season better than the last year’s glorious campaign of winning the National Schools’ Games and winning all the trophies in big match encounters while remaining unbeaten even in a highly successful tour of Singapore and Malaysia.

The 2015 first XI side consisted with 14 coloursmen, with Skipper Malith Rasanga being awarded the prestigious Royal Crown for his achievements representing Sri Lanka in the Junior Asia Cup. Former Royal College Principal Upali Gunasekera had been a source of inspiration to the hockey players along with Rohan Dissanayake, a much-loved and respected coach in the country, who has been a fine strategist in moulding the Royal stickers to achieve glory through a well-disciplined approach. Royal’s hockey glory started after Dissanayake took over the coaching in 1991, producing three champions in the same year.

Their Senior Games Master Sudath Liyanagunawardena made an invaluable contribution towards the success story of the sport with the assistance of the teachers in charge. Royal Hockey is backed by Royal College Hockey Club which nurtures the game at the school with guidance, support and providing much needed facilities. The parents and past players too have contributed immensely and given their blessings to help Royal to continue its successes and be at the top in the schools hockey tournaments for a yet another year.