Wasantha Soysa was a

Karate (; ; Okinawan language, Okinawan pronunciation: ) is a martial arts, martial art developed in the Ryukyu Kingdom. It developed from the Okinawan martial arts, indigenous Ryukyuan martial arts (called , "hand"; ''tii'' in Okinawan) under the ...

champion A champion (from the late Latin ''campio'') is the victor in a challenge, contest or competition. There can be a territorial pyramid of championships, e.g. local, regional / provincial, state, national, continental and world championships, an ...

and a Guinness record holder who has approximately twelve world records, including breaking twelve slabs of

concrete Concrete is a composite material composed of fine and coarse aggregate bonded together with a fluid cement (cement paste) that hardens (cures) over time. Concrete is the second-most-used substance in the world after water, and is the most wi ...

in one blow with his head, and breaking 522 clay tiles. His nickname was the 'Rajarata Iron Man'. Soysa was born in

Sri Lanka Sri Lanka (, ; si, ශ්‍රී ලංකා, Śrī Laṅkā, translit-std=ISO (); ta, இலங்கை, Ilaṅkai, translit-std=ISO ()), formerly known as Ceylon and officially the Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka, is an ...

and later became the owner of a night club in

Anuradhapura Anuradhapura ( si, අනුරාධපුරය, translit=Anurādhapuraya; ta, அனுராதபுரம், translit=Aṉurātapuram) is a major city located in north central plain of Sri Lanka. It is the capital city of North Central ...

. On 24 October 2015, he was

murder Murder is the unlawful killing of another human without justification (jurisprudence), justification or valid excuse (legal), excuse, especially the unlawful killing of another human with malice aforethought. ("The killing of another person wit ...

ed at his own night club by an underworld gang.

Early life

Soysa was born in

as Alexander Wasantha Wikrama de Soysa. His father, Alfred de Soysa, was a businessman who was executed in 1972 after being found guilty in the notorious Kelettewa murder case in 1960s. Soysa completed his education at St. Joseph's College and began to learn

martial arts Martial arts are codified systems and traditions of combat practiced for a number of reasons such as self-defense; military and law enforcement applications; combat sport, competition; physical, mental, and spiritual development; entertainment; a ...

in 1974 under renowned karate instructor D.A. Welgama. After becoming a successful figure in his field, Soysa made his first Guinness record in 1998 by breaking 525 tiles against his body. On 23 August 2009 he broke a Guinness world record by breaking 12 concrete blocks in one blow with his head, the previous record having been held by a Norwegian national, Narve Laeret, who had broken 7 concrete blocks in 2008.

Death

On 24 October 2015, Wasantha Soysa and three other employees were attacked at Soysa's own night club in Kadapanaha area, Anuradhapura by a group of about 25 individuals. He was admitted to hospital with serious injuries, but died the same day. He was 57 years old.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Soysa, Wasantha Sri Lankan martial artists Date of birth missing 2015 deaths World record holders Sri Lankan murder victims People murdered in Sri Lanka Sinhalese people Sri Lankan male karateka People from Anuradhapura