By Katie Speldewinde
OCA Young Reporter from Sri Lanka
Nagoya, Japan, September 26, 2026: For Mohommed Usaith Yazmin and Ravindu Jayanath Kumara, the boxing ring in Nagoya has offered two different experiences, but ultimately pointed them towards the same dream.
Usaith advanced to the men’s 80kg quarter-finals with a 4-1 victory over Cambodia’s Anvar Nasredinov, while Ravindu began his men’s 60kg campaign with a narrow 3-2 win over Turkmenistan’s Dovlet Muhanov.
Their journeys have taken different routes, but both speak about boxing with the same sense of purpose: the Olympic Games.
For Usaith, competing at his first Asian Games has already become a moment he will remember.
“I’m really happy to get an opportunity like this,” he said. “Winning a match like this in a competition of this scale is a massive achievement for me.”
His victory was built on preparation. Having watched Nasredinov’s fights several times, Usaith and his team studied the Cambodian national champion closely, identifying weaknesses and shaping their tactics around them.
“He’s a pro boxer with a good style, and he plays really well,” Usaith said. “We analysed how he plays and identified all his weaknesses together as a team.”
Even after suffering slight discomfort during the bout, his determination remained unchanged.
“I will sort that out and play regardless,” he said.
Away from the ring, Usaith balances boxing with his studies, but his ambitions stretch well beyond Nagoya. Like many athletes chasing the highest level of the sport, he sees the Olympics as the ultimate destination.
Ravindu knows more than most about the road that leads there. His return to the Asian Games comes eight years after his debut in Jakarta, where he faced the world No.1.
This time, his campaign began with a hard-fought victory before ending with a 4-1 defeat to Afghanistan’s Emal Hamdam.
Yet defeat has not diminished the dream that has followed him since childhood.
“The biggest dream for any sportsman is the Olympics,” Ravindu said. “I’ve had that big dream since I was little.”
That dream is shared by Usaith, who is determined to keep working towards it.
“I’m giving my best effort to reach it, and I will definitely get there,” he said.
For both men, Nagoya is another step rather than the destination. Different stages, different paths, but the same ambition remains ahead of them: to take Sri Lankan boxing all the way to the Olympic ring.