Sports
Ill-timed National Sports Festival was a waste of time and money
By Reemus Fernando
Despite the pomp and pageantry associated with the top national competition and the state patronage it receives the National Sports Festival continues to mirror the lack of forward thinking by the organizers, the Sports Ministry. The Athletics Championship which takes the pride of place of the Multi-Sports event is generally conducted as the final event and this time too there was no exception. But the scheduling of the event was so ill-timed that it produced lackluster performances as most of the coaches rested their top athletes ahead of a crucial international event.
The Sports Ministry of the central government and Provincial Sports Ministries spend lavishly for the top national event and this time Sri Lanka Athletics had intervened to obtain World Athletics ‘E’ grade ranking for the event, meaning the results of this championship would help athletes improve their rankings. That was the right move as it adds real value to the money spent on the public purse. But top athletes had to skip the event in preparation for the Asian Games which commences on September 23.
Veteran runner Gayanthika Abeyratne, sprinter Nadeesha Ramanayake and long jumper Sarangi Silva were the only Asian Games hopefuls to take part in the three-day event. Incidentally, the coaches of these athletes are associated with the ministry in one way or another. More than half of the Asian Games track and field team were representing Sri Lanka at the World Athletics Championships in Budapest when the Athletics Championship of the National Sports Festival was being conducted at the Sugathadasa Stadium.
No organizer with an iota of knowledge on sports would conduct a major national event to coincide with a global event if the country’s top athletes were scheduled to take part in the latter. Would the sports minister encourage his subordinates to conduct a local cricket tournament involving national cricketers to coincide with the Cricket World Cup? There was a time when knowledgeable officials of the Sports Ministry persuaded the Minister, who gives the green light for the premier event, to schedule it at the right time. It doesn’t seem to be the case now a days.
Sri Lanka Athletics, which generally publishes its event calendar before the start of the year recently rescheduled a national event so that the athletes could benefit from it. Sports events are there for the benefit of the sportsmen and women. Coaches and officials planning to achieve the best results for their athletes prepare their training plans with an eye on the competition calendar. But Sri Lanka’s athletes remain in the dark with regard to the date of the country’s premier sports event conducted by the Sports Ministry. The scheduling of the National Sports Festival should be done in collaboration with the respective Sports Associations so the money invested in the premier event will not be in vain.
Shammi Silva has once again taken guard at the top of Sri Lanka Cricket (SLC), securing a fourth consecutive term as President at the Annual General Meeting, held amidst much fanfare at Colombo’s Cinnamon Grand Hotel yesterday.
Already calling the shots as President of the Asian Cricket Council, Silva’s crowning achievement in recent years has been bringing the 2026 ICC T20 World Cup to Sri Lankan shores. The marquee tournament will be co-hosted by Sri Lanka and India next year, a feather in the cap for the country’s cricket administrators.
Silva’s administration has made a concerted effort to bridge the yawning gap between domestic and international cricket. One of the bold strokes in this innings has been trimming the number of First-Class teams – a move aimed at upping the quality and sharpening the edge of domestic cricket.
SLC Ex-Co also played a straight bat when it comes to developing cricket beyond Colombo’s city limits. High Performance Centres have sprung up across the outstations, rolling out the red carpet for raw talent from the hinterlands, who had previously been left in the pavilion.
The school cricket circuit too has been given a shot in the arm, with infrastructure development and skill enhancement taking centre stage. By strengthening the grassroots, the current administration hopes to widen the talent pool and unearth future stars of the game.
SLC’s balance sheet tells its own story – healthy and in the black. Over the past five years, the board’s financial stability has not only benefited cricket, but has also allowed it to lend a helping hand to other sports disciplines, at the request of the Ministry of Sports.
With over three decades of experience under his belt as a sports administrator, Shammi Silva is the long-serving President of the Colombo Cricket Club (CCC), one of the game’s oldest institutions in the country.
The 64th AGM was largely a case of “same XI, new season,” with only one notable change to the playing field – Secretary Mohan de Silva making way for seasoned campaigner Bandula Dissanayake. No stranger to the inner workings of SLC, Dissanayake has previously chaired the Tournament and Umpires Committees, and brings a wealth of experience to the table.
Dr. Jayantha Dharmadasa and former First-Class player Ravin Wickramaratne retained their Vice-President slots, while Sujeewa Godaliyadda continues to hold the Treasurer’s post. Chryshantha Kapuwatta and Lasantha Wickremasinghe will once again don the hats of Assistant Secretary and Assistant Treasurer, respectively.
The election, part of SLC’s biannual cycle, was overseen and greenlit by the Election Committee chaired by retired Court of Appeal Justice Malani Gunaratne.
Vidyaloka College fought back on the back of a valuable century by Nimesh Aavinda to pull off two wickets victory over Kingswood in the Under 19 Division II Tier ‘B’ cricket tournament final played at Saliyapura, Anuradhapura on Monday.
Vidyaloka had a deficit of 36 runs in the first innings but a combined effort helped them restrict Kingswood to 161 runs in the second essay. They were left with a target of 198 runs to chase. And they achieved it with Nimesh Aavinda top scoring with 115 runs.
Scores
Kingswood
227 all out in 83.3 overs (Chanul Kodituwakku 33, Aadil Sheriff 69, Kavija Gamage 25, Nikeshala Nanayakkara 56; Seniru Ninduwara 4/74, Lidula Nuwanga 2/58, Nimesh Aavinda 2/48, Pulindu Chamuditha 2/19) and 161 all out in 65.3 overs (Kavija Gamage 57, Nikeshala Nanayakkara 45; Seniru Ninduwara 2/45, Pulindu Chamuditha 2/07)
Vidyaloka
191 all out in 79.3 overs (Lidula Nuwanga 81, Seniru Ninduwara 34, Tharusha Jayamith 23; Kavija Gamage 4/63, Upadi Jayawardane 2/41) and 200 for 8 in 48.3 overs( Nimesh Aavinda 114, Lidula Nuwanga 34, Seniru Ninduwara 28; Kavija Gamage 3/80, Dominsara Peiris 2/51)
by Reemus Fernando
There was a growing sense of uncertainty surrounding the hosting of the 120th edition of the Lovers’ Quarrel Big Match after Richmond College raised concerns over an attempt by Mahinda College to field a newly recruited player in the team at the historic match which was scheduled to commence on Thursday.
Richmond College authorities have informed Mahinda that they would pullout from the match if the newly recruited player who played for St. Aloysius’ in the just concluded Under 19 cricket tournament is included in the Big Match team.
According to sources Mahinda College have recruited St. Aloysius’ skipper Charya Paranavithana at the end of the Under 19 cricket tournament and are yet to register him under their name with Sri Lanka Schools Cricket Association. They have included the player in the Big Match squad.
A source close to Mahinda said that though the player is included in the squad he was not certain to be in the playing XI.
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