The Sri Lanka Masters Hockey team, led by former national striker Nadith Kudagama emerged unbeaten champions by defeating Dubai Hockey Club 4-0 in the inaugural Cargills International Masters Hockey Cup, concluded at the Colombo Astro Turf on Saturday (3).
The Sri Lanka Maroons team launched an aggressive attack from the outset of the final match in the three-day tournament.
The hosts opened scoring in the second minute with a penalty corner conversion by former Army forward Asanka Welagedara, eight minutes in, another former Army player, Harendra Dharmarathna doubled the lead with a well-executed penalty corner goal. At half time, the Sri Lanka Masters led 2-0.
Dubai Hockey Club, comprising expatriate players, had three scoring opportunities in the second half, including a solitary penalty corner.
However, the Sri Lanka Masters maintained dominance throughout. Early in the second half, Asanka Welagedara added a third goal via a field effort.
Just two minutes later, former Sri Lanka skipper and Army veteran, Ishanka Jayasundera sealed the win with the fourth goal, securing a 4-0 victory for the hosts. Harendra Dharmarathna was adjudged player of the final for his impressive stick work.
The 13-match tournament, held entirely under the newly installed floodlights which featured six Masters teams – two from the United Arab Emirates, one each from India and Oman and two from Sri Lanka.
The Sri Lanka Maroons was coached by former national player Ashok Pieris and was managed by Ananda Silva.
They defeated Oman 4-0 in the opener, drew 0-0 in a rematch and convincingly beat the Dubai Hockey Club B team 4-0 in both encounters.
The Dubai Hockey Club A defeated the Indian team 1-0, drew 0-0 in their second meeting, beat Sri Lanka Golds team 2-1 on the second day, before drawing 1-1 with them on the final day.
The tournament saw many International players in action, organised by the Sri Lanka Masters Hockey Association (SLMHA) and the tournament was sponsored by Cargills Ceylon PLC.
This was also Sri Lanka’s first International Hockey event in almost 20 years and set a new benchmark for the sport in the country.
To further promote the game among the youth, SLMHA also hosted a Schools Hockey carnival featuring S. Thomas’ College, Mount Lavinia, St. Joseph’s College, Colombo 10, Ananda College, Colombo 10, and St. Benedict’s College, Colombo 13 in the Boy’s category, while the Girl’s category included Musaeus College, Colombo 7 and Janadhipathi Balika Vidyalaya, Nawala.