Sri Lanka, Sept. 11 -- A brilliant hat-trick by Lithum Karunasiri guided Royal College, Colombo to a commanding win over Wesley College in their annual hockey encounter for the Dudley de Silva Trophy, played at the Reid Avenue grounds in Colombo.

The Royalists, runners-up at the recent Western Provincial Hockey Tournament, came in as favourites for the clash, which was staged for the first time since 2018. Wesley fought harder than expected, but the hosts were too strong in attack, defence, and dribbling.

Royal, led by Yusuf Shihar - who represented Sri Lanka at the Junior Asia Cup in China this year - played a slow but controlled game and were dominant from the start. They led 2-0 at halftime.

Karunasiri struck twice in the first quar...