Rukmal Prasanna and Prathap Sudamma overwhelmed their rivals at the male finals of the Clifford Cup

The thirteen male finals featured in the last competition day at the 94th Clifford Cup which demonstrated the boxing development in Sri Lanka.

The Clifford Cup was held in an open area at the Sahas Uyana complex in the city of Kandy, Sri Lanka and together with their 1-star Referee & Judge Course with the leading of Wales’ Instructor, Mr. John Waith. The event was broadcasted live on the PEO Sports Digital channels to increase the popularity of boxing in Sri Lanka.

The number of the participants was 140 among the youth and 115 in the elite part of the Clifford Cup including 75 women. The President of Sri Lanka Boxing Mr. Anuruddha Shanaka Bandara is proud to host this important R&J Course which is the first in Sri Lanka’s boxing life since 2011.

Air Force’s M.W.M.M. Meegasthenna and Army’s U. Amitha Avishka knew each other very well and their super heavyweight (+92kg) final was a real fight. They had the similar height, weight and physical conditions therefore the judges had hard job to select the winner but due to Avishka’s better final round, he won the first male final.

P.A. Rukman Sanjeewa Rupasinghe won the recent Layton Cup and he had the strong start against another experienced heavyweight (92kg) boxer, K.M.C.K. Karunanayaka. The referee counted both boxers in the first round therefore they were more careful in the next two periods. Rupasinghe was slightly better in the exchanges during their close third round and he won his next national competition after the October event.

Y.S. Prathap Sudamma achieved a gold medal at the Layton Cup this October and he faced with G.W.D. De Silva for the title of the cruiserweight (86kg). The experienced Sudamma landed a lethal punch in the middle of the first round and the referee confirmed his KO victory immediately.

Podi Arachchige Rukmal Prasanna is member of the national team since 2017 and the 25-year-old boxer competed in almost all levels of boxing in the international stage as well. The Commonwealth Games quarter-finalist ruled the middle of the ring against K.H. Navodya and he dominated all of the three rounds to win his next national competition.

R.M.P.K.K. Rasnayaka defeated W.M.M. Bandara in the next final at the lightweight (60kg) and he became a double gold medallist this year. Two Army boxers advanced to the finals of the light welterweight (63.5kg) and among them P.S.P.S. Siriwardhana was too smart for N.K. Padmakumara today.

I.P.D. Chinthana Udayakumara is member of the elite national team at the light middleweight (71kg) and he represented the country in Chiang Mai as well. Udayakumara had a taller opponent in the final, P.M.L.L. Chandrabandara, but he tried to use his speed to land punches from closer distance. The referee counted Udayakumara once in the second round which was a turning point in their final and surprisingly Chandrabandara won their contest.

St. Sylvester Boxing College’s Yazmin Muhammad Usaith is the youngest team member in the elite national pool and the middleweight (75kg) boxer dictated the tempo against Navy’s R.G.U.S. Rupassara. The 20-year-old southpaw overcame his opponent in the attacks and he knew more about boxing therefore he claimed his next national gold medal.

Sri Lanka Police’s H.W.G.P. Rathnasiri and Army Red’s H.M.P.P. Kumara managed their pathways to the finals of the light heavyweight (80kg) and the latter won the title in Kandy. In the absence of the Asian Elite Boxing Championships bronze medallist Umayanga Mihiran, K.A.S.K. Abeygunawardana defeated A.M.G.I. Bandara in the final of the flyweight (51kg).

Back to Fit Boxing Gym’s D.H. Thissaarachchy was slightly better than H.M.L.P. Jayawardhana in the battle of the southpaw boxers and he earned the title at the minimumweight (48kg). Air Force’s P.G.E. Madushan (54kg) and P.S.P. Suranga Fernando (67kg) won the last finals of the 94th Clifford Cup in Kandy.

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