Gamage heads Boxing coaches Association

S.M. Jiffrey Abdeen - Kandy Sports Correspondent

BOXING: Former St. Sylvester's College, Police Junior National boxer and boxing coach Sub Inspector Bandula Withana Gamage was elected as the President of the Sri Lanka Amateur Boxing Coaches Association for the year 2006-07 at the Annual General Meeting held in Colombo recently.

Bandula Withana Gamage is one of the top and fearless boxers produced by St. Sylvester's College, Kandy, winning his colours at St. Sylvester's College, Police, Central Province, the YMCA and at the nationals a number of years.

He started his boxing coaching career at St.Sylvester's in the late eighties and early nineties and during his tenure as the boxing coach his alma mater won the plum Stubs Shield, L.V. Jayaweera Memorial Shield, T.B. Jayah Trophy and the Junior Nationals several times. Later he coached Peradeniya Central College and within five months of his taking over the coaching the school won the L.V.Jayweera Memorial Boxing Championship.

Apart from his coaching he has also won the Clifford Cup and Layton Cup events for the Sri Lanka Police. In the year 2005 within 10 months of his taking over as the coach, Sri Lanka Police won five Best boxers and 4 best losers trophy together with 14 gold medals, 14 silver medals and 18 bronze medals at various championships.

He is a highly qualified boxing coach having undergone training under foreign boxing coaches. He was the Police boxing coach from 1995 to 2000 and was also the Assistant National Boxing coach for the Sri Lanka team for the SAF Games in 1999.

That year Sri Lanka won 1 gold medal, 2 silver medal and 06 bronze medal. While serving in Trincomalee district, he introduced boxing to Kantale and later to Nuwara Eliya schools and produced the Stubs Shield 'Best Boxer' from Kanthale Agrobodhi National School in 2002. Apart from boxing he has also represented the Police at Billiards, Snooker, Athletics, long distance running, cricket, rugby and soccer.