The U-20 Western province tournament, a much awaited event for the U-20 hockey team, marked the beginning of their playing season. A long line of matches and tournaments lay ahead. The team faced off against Bandaranayake College Gampaha, in their qualifying round, dominating with a score of 14 – 0 – which is speculated to be the highest number of goals scored in the tournament. The match served as a great confidence boost for the team before advancing forward to the quarter finals.
For the quarter finals match, S. Thomas’ College went up against Prince of Wales College, Moratuwa. There were no goals scored in the first half. Nevertheless, Jamal Lafir made the breakthrough in the second half scoring a goal for S. Thomas’ College; making the score 1 – 0. This allowed S. Thomas’ to advance to the semi-finals against St. Peters College. The Thomian team considered St. Peters to be the toughest matchup in the tournament, as the Peterite team consisted of skilled players and had well rounded talent. It was a tense match for both schools, however Shaheed Khan broke the tie for the Thomian team by scoring a goal in the second half. The match ended with a score of 1-0.
For the finals, S. Thomas’ College went up against St. Joseph’s College. The Josephian team followed the same attacking strategy as S. Thomas’, allowing the Thomian players to intercept and defend their half effectively. In the second half Shaheed Khan yet again delivered the breakthrough, scoring 2 goals; resulting in the final score of 2 – 0. This was an ecstatic win in the tournament for the S. Thomas’ College hockey team after 19 years.
The team doesn’t consider this the end, but rather the beginning of a new chapter, with a long line of matches set up for the current year. The Thomian Hockey team stated that their intention is to dominate school hockey, and to bring recognition to hockey in College.