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Sri Lankan boxer Umayanga Mihiran, a native of Telijjawila in Akurugoda, Matara poses with his bronze medal on his return to the country after contesting the men’s flyweight (51kg) category at the ASBC Asian Elite Boxing Championships in Chiang Mai, Thailand.
His achievement marks the first medal for Sri Lanka in men’s boxing at this level since P.L.J. Ratnasuriya’s bronze in 1987 in Kuwait City, ending a 37-year wait. Mihiran’s valiant campaign ended in the semifinals against Uzbekistan’s Asilbek Jalilov, the reigning Asian U-22 champion, in a tightly contested bout.
(Pic: TKG Kapila, Katunayake corr)
