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Trinity College Kandy - Respice Finem

Trinity College Kandy - Respice Finem

Trinity College, Kandy Respice Finem

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Trinity College, Kandy
262, D S Senanayake Veediya, Kandy 20000, Central Province, Sri Lanka

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Thursday, 10 March 2022 / Published in Boxing, College, General Articles, History, Sports

When Trinity Boxing went to Olympics – the Story of Leslie Handunge

An article by Chaniru Senhas (Grade 8)

Boxing at Trinity

Boxing has traditionally been one of Trinity’s most exciting sports, both among alumni and students. The beginnings of Boxing dates to 1907 when only younger students were allowed to be a part of the sport. Since 1913, Boxing became a main-stream sport in college and many inter-house tournaments were held. Consequently, in 1914 Trinity won its first battle for the Stubbs Shield.

Trinity boxing became defunct in 1962, but, it sprang back to life in 1975 with the trainers being Bobby Jayaweera, S. B. Kiridena, Leslie Handunge and Sarath Jayasinghe and culminated with winning the Stubbs in 1983. Sadly, the second death-knell was dealt to Trinity boxing in 1984 and was again revived in 2005 and continues to this day.

Joe Louis of Ceylon

Leslie Handunge

Leslie Donovan Perera Handunge, better known as Leslie Handunge, who has been a colleague of Duncan White, was the only Olympic boxer produced by Trinity. He was born on the 18th of June, 1921 and he lived to an age of 100 years. He was one of the finest sportsmen produced by Trinity College. 

After joining Trinity, he was guided by many coaches. He lived in Matale at the time. Leslie represented Garret House in four major sports: cricket, boxing, rugby, and athletics. His siblings too were well-known sportsmen and sportswomen in their respective fields.  

Leslie became captain of the College Boxing Team in 1939 while keeping the family tradition as his father too was the captain of the College Boxing team. He was a multitalented athlete who also achieved a place in the National Boxing team. 

Immediately after leaving Trinity in 1940, Leslie joined the College staff from 1942 to 1944.

1984 Boxing Team – Leslie Handunge as Coach (6th from Left)

He enrolled in Peradeniya University’s Agriculture Faculty in 1947 to pursue a degree in agriculture, and subsequently won the Manning Cup for Best Boxer at the National Boxing Championship Meet the following year as an undergraduate. Leslie was also the Director of Physical Education at the University of Peradeniya.

Leslie obtained a Diploma in Physical Education from the University of Loughborough UK and a Masters Degree in Physical Education from the University of Springfield USA.

He gained his pride and respect by representing Sri Lanka at the 1948 London Olympics where he participated in the men’s flyweight event. In round one of this event he gained victory by defeating Guillermo Porteiro who was an Uruguayan boxer. Round 2 is where he was defeated by Spartaco Bandinelli, an Italian boxer. Not only at the London Olympics, but Leslie also participated in the 1952 Helsinki Olympics. He was awarded Gold medal in round 1 by defeating Walter Tello, a Panamanian boxer in the men’s flyweight event. In round 2 which was a redraw, handunge was defeated by Dai Dower, a boxer from Britain. 

Leslie Handunge (Second from Right) – The Ceylon Olympic squad at the Olympic camp in Richmond Park, London – 13th June 1948

Following his Olympic performance, Leslie enrolled in Loughborough College to pursue a Diploma in Physical Education, becoming the first Ceylonese to do so. At the age of 31, Lesie, who was also famously known as ‘Joe Louis of Ceylon,’ announced his retirement from the sport. 

Gaining the essence from many past sportsmen produced by Trinity, Boxing continues to be a key sport in College upholding the values of leadership and teamwork.

In Leslie’s own words:

“So Trinity –
Play hard, play clean,
Do nothing dirty, nothing mean
Do your best, you can’t do more,
Play the game and forget the score
Respect your opponents treat them with
chivalry
Above all, maintain the traditions of Trinity.
“

Leslie Handunge
Leslie Handunge in Action

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Few captured moments from 'Jingles to Jazz' - Mind Few captured moments from 'Jingles to Jazz' - Mind Your Music 2022 presented by the Trinity College Choir.#trinitycollegekandy #jinglestojazz #mindyourmusic2022 #Jazz #concert #trinity #college #kandyPictures: Quadrangle Magazine
TICKET SALES: 1st Leg of the 76th Bradby Shield En TICKET SALES: 1st Leg of the 76th Bradby Shield Encounter 2022 - Royal College Sports Complex, Colombo.The sales of tickets will commence on 16th August 2022 from 9am onwards.A limited number of tickets are available on a First Come - First Serve basis.Ticket Prices:Grand Stand - No. 05 - Rs. 5,000/-
Grand Stand - No. 01 - Rs. 3,300/-
Sky Pavillion - S 02 - Rs. 2,400/-
Sky Pavillion - S 03 - Rs. 2,400/-
Independence Wing - Rs. 1,000/-
Sky Pavillion - Lower - Rs. 300/-Please note that the tickets are available on cash payments onlyTickets can be bought at: Trinity College Kandy | Trinity College OBA (Parent Body) | Trinity College OBA (Colombo Branch) | Old Trinitians Rugby Scrummage | Old Trinitians'Sports Club, Kandy#trinitycollegekandy #rugby #76th #bradby #shield #sports #kandy #srilanka
The Junior Nationals Athletic Meet was held from 7 The Junior Nationals Athletic Meet was held from 7th to 10th June at the Sugathadasa Stadium Colombo.Among the 12 Trinity athletes who participated in the meet, Master Sandil Ranaweera won the 1st place in All island school games 1500m and 2nd place in 800m and Master Sachindu Wanasekara won 3rd place in All island school games 100m.Our congratulations to Sandil, Sachindu and the entire Athletic Team for their tremendous performance at the Junior Nationals Athletic Meet 2022.Read the full review on our College website!#trinitycollegekandy #athletics #sports #achievements #trinity #college #kandy #srilanka #athleticmeet #athletes
කන්ද උඩරට අභිමානවත කන්ද උඩරට අභිමානවත් ශ්‍රී දළදා මංගල්‍යයේ දවල් පෙරහැරට පෙර ගමන් වඩින 'මියන් රාජා' වීථි සැරියට පෙර දෑලේ පිරිවර ගමන් සඳහා ගාම්භීරත්වයෙන් ත්‍රිත්ව පියසේ ගිමන් හැරි වගයි.#SriDaladaMaligawa #KandyEsalaPerahera2022 #trinitycollegekandy #kandy #SriLanka
Reminiscing the invincible 1987 Trinity Rugby Team Reminiscing the invincible 1987 Trinity Rugby TeamThe Trinity Rugby outfit led by the legendary skipper Tyrrell Rajapakse, was remarkable in many respects. They went undefeated in the Schools League and went on to win the Premadasa Trophy Knockout Tournament. They not only remained unbeaten in the season but also kept a record of conceding lesser points against them.Shown in the first image: Trinity College skipper Tyrell Rajapakse being introduced to then President J.R. Jayewardene who was the chief guest at the Second Leg of the Bradby Shield at the Sugathadasa Stadium. 1987.#trinitycollegekandy #rugby #1987 #history #trinity #college #kandy #srilanka #sports
Master Parinda Ratnayake of the Trinity College Mo Master Parinda Ratnayake of the Trinity College Model United Nations Club was awarded the Higher Commendation at the Musaeus MUN Conference 2022.The conference organized by Musaeus College, Colombo was held on the 23rd and 24th of July via a virtual platform.#trinitycollegekandy #modelunitednations #mun #mcmun #trinity #college #kandy #srilanka
The Model United Nations Club of Trinity College s The Model United Nations Club of Trinity College showed its significant presence at Hill Country Model United Nations, finishing with a tally of three awards and six gavels for chairing.HCMUN, the premier regional conference for the Central Province was held on the 30th and 31st of July with the guidance and support of @sl_munRead the full review on our College website!#trinitycollegekandy #modelunitednations #hcmun #slmun #trinity #college #kandy #srilanka
We are delighted to announce the appointment of Ma We are delighted to announce the appointment of Master Osanda Bandara as the Captain of the Trinity College Karate Team for 2022.Trinity Family wishes Osanda and the Team all success.#trinitycollegekandy #karate #sports #captain #team #trinity #college #kandy #srilanka
We are delighted to announce the appointment of Ma We are delighted to announce the appointment of Master Vivek Hettiarachchi as the Captain of the Trinity College Athletics Team for Second Half of 2022.Trinity Family wishes Vivek and the Team all success.#trinitycollegekandy #athletics #sports #captain #team #trinity #college #kandy #srilanka
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