Mr. Leslie - The Founder Of University Games

If you're a sportsperson from any of the state universities in Sri Lanka whose main goal is to achieve something at the SLUG or Inter University Games every year, there is one name you should remember for he made this possible, and is a legend in Ceylon's sporting history as a sportsperson and administrator!

Mr. Leslie Donovan Perera Handunge, or simply Leslie Handunge, was born on a day like this in Kandy in 1921. A well-rounded sportsman who excelled in Rugby, Cricket and Hockey, he also picked up his Boxing gloves in his days at Trinity College. He was also studious, and it shows when he was selected to study at the University of Peradeniya after representing Trinity in 4 sports!

The First Boxer to Step into an Olympic Ring

Having served in his alma mater for a brief period from 1942 to 1944, he was enrolled at Peradeniya in 1947 where he also won the Manning Cup for Best Boxer at the National Boxing Championship Meet the following year as an undergraduate. It was the year 1948 when Ceylon participated in the Olympics for the first time and he was among the team of 7, which included 4 Boxers.

Leslie Handunge at the Olympics

In fact, he was the first Ceylonese boxer to step into an Olympic ring and also record a win, against Mexico in the Flyweight category. He was also the flag bearer in the 1952 Olympics, and retired at 31. Subsequently, he pursued his Master's in Physical Education and became the first Ceylonese to become the Director of Sports at the Department of Physical Education at the University of Peradeniya.

Fun fact- he was also a rugby player for the Kandy Sports Club and subsequently a referee (which sparked a few controversies and despite being an Old Trinitian, officiated the U17 games before the Bradby). He also held several administrative positions to uplift Kandy sports in Hockey, Amateur Boxing, Rugby and Athletics apart from being a referee in almost every sport, including Football!

The Founding of CUSA (SLUSA)

Apart from his service to the University sports with ground facilities and vision for undergraduates to facilitates them with sports, his idea of inaugurating a series of Inter-University Sports Competitions led to the formation of the Ceylon Universities' Sports Association (CUSA) in 1969, which went on to become the SLUSA - Sri Lanka Universities Sports Association in the 1980s. The SLUG (Sri Lanka University Games) was also inaugurated, held every 3 years.

As the Father of Sri Lankan University Sports, his legacy is remembered in various boxing competitions by his name and also special awards such as the Leslie Handunge Award for the Most Outstanding Sportsman at the University of Colombo. While remembering the legendary Leslie Sir on his 104th birth anniversary today, here's a poem recalled by the students of his Alma Mater.

“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.“