Boxing was introduced to Sri Lanka by Donald Obeysekere, who excelled in the sport while studying at the University of Cambridge in England, where he was awarded the blue for boxing. 

Initially, boxing entered the local arena through the armed forces. Inter-services competitions such as the Clifford Cup and the Layton Cup remain popular among the boxing community in Sri Lanka.

Eventually, boxing entered Sri Lankan schools in 1913. In 1914, the Stubbs competition was introduced and remains the oldest school boxing competition in Sri Lanka.

Pioneering efforts

During the last years of the previous decade, attempts were made to introduce boxing at the University of Colombo (UOC), pioneered and driven by the efforts of Anuruddha Bandara, a student at the university at that time. 

In 2018, Rukman Wekadapola, Sri Lanka’s first International Technical Official under the International Boxing Association (IBA) banner, an IBA certified three-star referee, and one of Sri Lanka’s most seasoned boxing officials, took the first formal steps in reviving university boxing at the University of Peradeniya (UOP) with the support of Lasith Dassanayake. 

Through their efforts, the Leslie Handunge Memorial Inter-University Boxing Tournament was conducted after a span of 40 years. The tournament was played in memory of Handunge, a Sri Lankan boxer and an Olympian who also served as the Director of Physical Education at the UOP.

In 2020, the UOC appointed its first official leadership for the sport. This formal recognition of boxing in universities was also supported by an awareness programme conducted in 2020 by the Physical Education Department of the University of Sri Jayewardenepura and the Sri Lanka University Boxing Club with the support of the Boxing Association of Sri Lanka (BASL). The session strengthened the technical knowledge and safety standards of the sport. 

The UOC Boxing Club is being coached by Ravinda Wekadapola, one of the handful of internationally recognised IBA three-star coaches in the country, a former national champion boxer who has represented Sri Lanka in international events such as the Commonwealth Games and Asian Games. 

The club officially registered itself in the BASL in 2022. With the support, guidance, and world-class training of Ravinda Wekadapola, the club stepped into the national arena in 2023, proving that its standards extended beyond university-level boxing. 

Since then, members of the club have been showing exceptional performance, competing with boxers from all over the nation, even full-time pugilists, while successfully balancing their roles as full-time students.

UOC Boxing Club’s achievements 

In 2023, Thilina Dissanayake, a former winner of the Stubbs Shield, played in the National Boxing Championship marking the UOC’s first presence at the national level. 

Kushan Kavindu, the Vice Captain of the team at that time, emerged as the Second Runner-Up at the Sri Lanka Novices Boxing Championship 2023, winning a Bronze medal against a boxer from the Sri Lanka Navy, and marking the first victory of the UOC Boxing Club on the national stage. 

In 2024, Maahela Weerasinghe won the first-ever Bronze medal at the Sri Lanka Intermediate Boxing Tournament. 

Since then, the following achievements have been made by UOC boxers over the years:

• Pasindu Nawoda: Second Runner-Up, Cruiserweight class, Sri Lanka Novices Boxing Championship 2024
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• Nawodaka Madushanka: First Runner-Up, Welterweight class, 48th National Sports Games 2024 – Inter-District Sports Competition, representing the Sabaragamuwa Province
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• Dasun Thathsara: Second Runner-Up, Bantamweight class, Sri Lanka Novices Boxing Championship 2025
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• Wenura Lakmal: Second Runner-Up, Lightweight class, Sri Lanka Novices Boxing Championship 2025
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• Theekshana Rajamanthri: Second Runner-Up, Light Welterweight class, Sri Lanka Novices Boxing Championship 2025
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• Isuka Premathilake: Second Runner-Up, Welterweight class, Sri Lanka Novices Boxing Championship 2025
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• Theekshana Rajamanthri: Second Runner-Up, Welterweight class, Sri Lanka Intermediate Boxing Tournament 2025

Flagship tournaments

The UOC Boxing Club has two internal flagship tournaments annually: the Inter-Faculty Championship and the Inter-Faculty Freshers’ Championship. 

The boxing events of both tournaments serve as premier in-house platforms for boxers to showcase their talents. The events are all judged by IBA-certified referees who have also had experience judging international boxing tournaments.

The Freshers’ Championship attracts new talents across the university and stands as the launchpad for most boxers. The competition is judged based on endurance, coordination, versatility, and technique rather than conventional combat.

The championship uses a novel criterion and a digitised scoring system designed by the club. The system was tailor-made to assess the fundamental boxing skills of new boxers. This is done considering the safety of new boxers. 

The Inter-Faculty Championship hosts combat. This ensures equal opportunities are given to both new and mature boxers.

2026: A proactive year

Despite its young age the UOC Boxing Club continues its efforts to grow the sport at an intra-university scale and even at an inter-university level across the nation. Specifically, 2026 has been the most proactive year for the boxing community at the UOC.

On 14 January, the university hosted its first-ever Invitational Inter-University Boxing Championship at its Indoor Stadium, the first event of its kind for the UOC Boxing Club. Boxers from the UOC, UOP, University of Kelaniya (UOK), University of Ruhuna, Sabaragamuwa University, and University of Jaffna participated in the competition across multiple weight classes. 

Boxers of the UOC delivered an exceptional performance during the event, including two wins by knockouts by Tharusha Pasan and Theekshana Rajamanthri and a total of 16 wins. However, the championship was lost to the UOK with a gap of a few points, and the UOC Boxing Club was awarded the Second Runner-Up title. 

Manusha Perera of the UOC, competing under the Lightweight category, was awarded the Best Boxer title at the event. 

The event was conducted under the supervision of the BASL. The bouts were judged by a panel comprising both IBA-certified and nationally certified judges and referees.

The boxers of the UOC emerged victorious at the 2026 Sri Lanka Novices Boxing Championship organised by the BASL. 

The event was held from 4 to 8 May at the Mahinda Rajapaksa International Stadium in Diyagama. Maahela Weerasinghe, the Vice Captain for 2025, won the championship in the Super Heavyweight class and emerged as the first boxer from the UOC to win the title. 

Pasindu Dharmasinghe of the Cruiserweight class, Pasindu Jayahansa of the Bantamweight class, and Sahan Madumal of the Light Heavyweight class emerged as the Second Runners-Up in their respective weight classes, each winning a Bronze medal.

An enduring mission

Over the past five years, the UOC Boxing Club has produced over 100 boxers. All of them have been keeping up with international standards by maintaining a competition record book and complying with IBA medical standards, adhering to best practices in amateur boxing. 

The club’s standards also extend beyond competition. Bandara and Dissanayake, two of the earliest members of the club, went on to become nationally certified boxing judges. 

The growth of the UOC Boxing Club within a short span of five years cannot be credited to a single individual. Its achievements are a result of the collective dedication of the team of boxers who train every week, the pioneering efforts of Bandara, the guidance and leadership of Coach Ravinda Wekadapola, and the contribution of many unsung individuals who support the cause directly and indirectly. 

The UOC Department of Physical Education, under the leadership of Acting Director Sanjeewa Jayasinghe, together with Master-in-Charge of Boxing Sujan Walgampaya, has also played a vital role in supporting the club, helping it overcome administrative and organisational challenges. 

The UOC Boxing Club is committed to the vision of uplifting the sport both inside and outside the university environment, maintaining discipline, honour, commitment, and the sense of sacrifice the sport teaches. 

Boxing is not defined by the accolades we win, but the character we build, deeply honouring the discipline, commitment, and sacrifice within the sport. This is merely the inception of a legacy; the fight goes on, and our mission will endure.

(The views and opinions expressed in this article are those of the writer and do not necessarily reflect the official position of this publication)