Boxing coach Sumanapala no more

Former national boxing champion and renowned coach U.A.T. Sumanapala passed away. He was 81 at the time of his death. Born in Ruwanpura on June 17, 1940, he was educated at St. Aloysius’ College, Ratnapura.

The golden age of his career as a talented footballer began with his enlistment in the Army as an apprentice in March 1960. He won the feather weight (Under 126lbs) title at the National Boxing Championship in 1966.

He was more renowned as a coach, being involved in coaching the Army boxing team from 1968 to 1985. He was synonymous with St. John’s College, Nugegoda which he coached from 1982, produced a large number of national boxing champions, with T.D. Nalaka Sanath Kumara being one of his finest products. He established boxing clubs in Kotte and Nugegoda and provided guidance to other clubs as well. He was the boxing coach of the Air Force from 1989 to 1991, which had national champions like Luxman Mapatuna and Pradeep Nugegoda.

A former national coach, Sumanapala served as the President of the Sri Lanka Amateur Boxing Coaches’ Association for several years from 2003. He also functioned as official time keeper at local and international meets such as the SAF Games and international dual meets held in Sri Lanka.