Tanzanians leave Lanka much soul-searching

By Allaam Ousman
What should have been a night of celebration turned out to be a poor advertisement for the standard of boxing in Sri Lanka. With the Sugathadasa Indoor Stadium packed to the rafters by mostly garment factory workers of MAS Holdings cheering themselves hoarse as Sri Lanka took on Tanzania in an international dual for the first time and the action being telecast live, the stage seemed set for some thrilling duels. But there was little to cheer about as Sri Lankan boxers, barring Anuruddha Ratnayake, failed dismally to produce anything special to reignite hope for the future of boxing in this country.

It was not the fact that Sri Lanka lost the six-fight dual contest to a leading African nation that caused concern. The manner in which the cream of Sri Lanka’s boxing talent stumbled in the ring made many old-timers hold their heads in shame at the quality dished out. At least two boxers appeared to enjoy physical advantage but they did not display tactical acumen or skill to make use of it, while another was woefully outclassed moving around the ring like a lumbering bear.

In Kamal Sameera’s defence it has to be said that he moved up from his regular weight (under 57kg) to fight in a higher division since he needed international exposure ahead of his participation in the World Championships next month, having missed the Layton Cup meet when he was indisposed with chicken pox. Pitted against Tanzania’s most experienced campaigner 27-year-old Petro Charles Mtagwa, a bronze medallist at the Commonwealth Championships in Liverpool, the Sri Lankan skipper showed great courage in the Light weight (under 60kg) duel. Sameera battled gamely taking the fight to his opponent in the third round landing some solid scoring blows but trailed 26-14. Mtagwa showed guile to stay out of trouble in the final round and win comfortably 32-20.
Apart from Ratnayake, only L.S. Lakmal made some impression in the light fly weight (under 48kg) contest against Muhsin Mohamed Mng’ola. In a classic battle between two southpaws, after a quiet opening round, 22-year-old Lakmal rocked his opponent with a right hook in the second round. But the crafty Tanzanian was always a step ahead while Lakmal tried to go for the kill after forcing a standing count in the third round.

Leading by just one point before the final round commenced, Mng’ola unleashed a flurry of combinations to finish strongly and win 29-22.
Young debutant N.S.P. Silva who was selected on his performance against Layton Cup winner M.D.K. Wanniarachchi seemed out of his depth against 21-year-old Ally Kimwaga Ally, another bronze medallist at the Commonwealth Championships. Silva towered over his opponent but the 19-year-old southpaw made the cardinal error of trying to slug it out with his shorter rival who slipped in and out with ease to earn a convincing 20-13 decision. “I did not perform to my potential because I was not feeling well before the contest,” said a disappointed Silva who seemed to be hit by stage fright and did not come out firing.

Gangly S.I. Kumara and southpaw K.K. Jayasundara were outclassed having no answer to the superior technique displayed by their rivals. Kumara trailed 20-5 when the contest was stopped in round three because of an injury, while Jayasundara also did not last the distance being outscored 25-5 forcing an end to the mismatch early in the fourth round.

“Our boxers have not done proper training. They did not seem to time their punches,” said H.M. Marzook, a bronze medallist at the Asian boxing championships held in Colombo in 1967 and an Asian Games representative.

Even Sri Lanka’s boxing chief Dian Gomes who tried to personally motivate them by being in the corner during the bouts, seemed flabbergasted by the performance though he tried to put up a brave front.

“(Anuruddha) Ratnayake is our only hope,” said Gomes when asked whether he still harbours dreams of Sri Lanka winning an Olympic medal. Inspired by the motto ‘nothing is impossible’ he seems to pin all hopes now on Ratnayake, who has made a sensational comeback after serving a two-year suspension for taking banned substances at the Commonwealth Championships in Scotland. Beginning with the Layton Cup, he has stopped all his opponents, including Tanzania’s Rajary Omary whom he floored in the opening seconds of the fly weight (under 51kg) contest with a beautifully timed right hook to the chin.

It was the only silver lining in a dismal night of boxing for Sri Lanka. “I feel that I’m peaking again and regaining my best form,” said 32-year-old Ratnayake who never gave up on his Olympic during his enforced lay-off from the sport. “My target is the Olympics,” he said.

Ratnayake succeeded in preventing Tanzania making a clean sweep of the dual contest. “He capitalised on our boxer’s mistake and delivered a timed punch,” said Tanzania’s manager Kahema Mziray. Having brought their squad which is preparing to take part in next month’s World Championships to be held in USA, they would have gained immensely from this international contest. Sri Lanka on the other hand has much soul-searching to do since this result comes on the heels of the disappointing display of seasoned campaigners at the Commonwealth competition.