Sports
Kazakhstan reign supreme at Asian Boxing Championships
Usaith shines bright for hosts
The Asian Boxing Confederation (ASBC) Asian U22 and Youth Boxing Championships 2025, powered by SLT-MOBITEL, PEO SPORTS, and the Boxing Association of Sri Lanka (BASL) successfully concluded resulting in a historic moment for the nation’s boxing community. It was held from May 12 to the 23 at the Sugathadasa Indoor Stadium-Colombo where more than 400 participants from 24 countries took part in the championships.
Kazakhstan’s Elina, who represented her country with outstanding skill, was crowned the Best Female Boxer of the tournament, while Mirzakeer from Kyrgyzstan was awarded the title of Best Male Boxer.
Kazakhstan also claimed the title of the Best Women’s Boxing Team, while Kyrgyzstan emerged as the Best Men’s Boxing Team of the tournament.
One of the tournament’s standout moments was when Sri Lanka’s own Mohommad Yazmin Usaith who qualified for the finals, secured a silver medal in the Under-22 Men’s 75kg category. Sri Lanka won a total of 23 medals at the championship.
Organized in collaboration with the BASL, ASBC, and the International Boxing Association (IBA), and powered by SLT-MOBITEL FTTH Broadband and PEO-SPORTS/PEOTV as the official broadcaster, this landmark event marked the return of Asian boxing to Sri Lanka after 57 years, filling the nation with pride.
The finals drew an electrifying crowd to the stadium, with thousands gathering to witness the action live. A total of 33 Sri Lankan boxers both male and female participated in this boxing tournament, which was held over a span of 12 days.
The entire tournament was aired live in true HD quality on PEO SPORTS 1 (HD – CH. 323, SD – CH. 150), delivering every thrilling moment for the viewing of boxing fans across the country. Additionally, viewers could stream the event live through the PEO MOBILE App, while the PEO SPORTS Facebook page and YouTube live streams made it accessible to audiences both nationwide and worldwide. The live streams received over 27 million views, while communications reached over 25 million during the event period, allowing boxing enthusiasts from around the world to experience every moment of the excitement.
Discussing audience reactions and viewership, Mr. Ruchira Weerakoon, Chief Officer of SLT-MOBITEL PEOTV stated, “Successfully managing a global event of this magnitude is a truly remarkable and proud achievement for us at PEOTV because it demonstrates the full strength of our ability to deliver a broadcast of international standards.
We extend our heartfelt gratitude to everyone who contributed to making this event a resounding success.”
The championship marks a major milestone not only for Sri Lankan boxing but also for PEOTV, as PEO SPORTS managed both the coverage and complete video production of the event, powered by SLT-MOBITEL’s high speed Fibre Broadband connectivity.
With the objective of enhancing the living conditions of the agricultural community and increasing the contribution of the agricultural sector to the GDP, ‘Smallholder Agribusiness Partnerships Programme’ is being implemented with the financial contribution form the government and the International Fund for Agricultural Development.
The Ministry of Agriculture, Livestock, Lands and Irrigation is
implementing the program in collaboration with the Regional Development Department of the Central Bank of Sri Lanka. All recoveries from loans provided under the program shall be directed to a revolving fund titled the “Sustainable Agricultural Fund”, which shall be utilized exclusively for the provision of
agricultural loans. Using the said fund, it is proposed to implement an agricultural loan scheme titled the “Sustainable Agriculture Programme” for individuals and institutions engaged in agriculture and related activities.
It is expected that an amount of Rs. 800 million from the funds available in the Sustainable Agriculture Fund will be allocated for the implementation of the Sustainable Agriculture Program in the year 2026.
Accordingly, the Cabinet of Ministers approved the proposal made by the President in his capacity as the Minister of Finance, Planning and Economic Development to implement the “Sustainable Agriculture Program” loan scheme through the Participatory Finance Institution as an annual program from the year 2026.
The BCCI has raised the match fees in women’s domestic cricket, from INR 20,000 to INR 50,000 per day, for those in the first XIs in senior competitions. The decision was taken at an Apex Council meeting on Monday in Mumbai.
Those in the reserves are entitled to half that amount (INR 25,000 per day). There has also been a revision at the age-group level, with players part of the first XIs set to earn INR 25,000 a day, and reserves earning INR 12,500.
Until now, the age-group players used to take home INR 10,000 a day if they were in the XI, while the reserves made INR 5000. This fee structure totalled to a little more than INR 2 lakh a season if they played all league fixtures, including the final. That figure will now be in the region of INR 5 lakh.
The changes are part of BCCI’s ongoing efforts to elevate the domestic game in the wake of India’s maiden ODI World Cup triumph, amid calls within the system to have a relook at match fees.
ESPNcricinfo understands that several top state coaches and players had requested such a change internally to help expand an existing talent pool that the WPL has helped amplify. The pay revision at the junior level stems from a growing interest in the game among younger women, with India emerging champions in back-to-back editions of the Under-19 World Cup.
In 2022, the BCCI had put the match fees of the women’s national team at par with that of men, meaning those playing a Test took home INR 15 lakh per match, while the corresponding amounts for an ODI and a T20I stood at INR 6 lakh and INR 3 lakh respectively.
There has, however, been no change in central contract figures, with those ranked in the highest grade taking home INR 50 lakh, which is less than the lowest pay slab for the men.
[Cricinfo]
Gede Priandana, Indonesia’s 28-year-old right-arm quick bowler, has become the first to pick up five wickets in an over in an international T20I match (where ball-by-ball data is available), achieving the feat in the first T20I against Cambodia in Bali on Tuesday. He is the first man or woman to achieve the feat.
Indonesia had the upper hand in the game, but Cambodia were not out of it yet at the end of the 15th over of the chase of 168, the scorecard reading 106 for 5. Bowling his first over, Priandana struck off the first three balls to record a hat-trick, sending back Shah Abrar Hussain, Nirmaljit Singh and Chanthoeun Rathanak. A dot ball followed, after which Priandana got rid of Mongdara Sok and Pel Vennak to finish off the match, Cambodia getting just one run in the over, a wide between the last two wickets, to end 60 runs short.
Priandana had earlier scored 6 in 11 balls opening the innings alongside Dharma Kesuma, the wicketkeeper-batter, who led the batting show for Indonesia with an unbeaten 110 in 68 balls with eight fours and six sixes.
The feat has, however, been achieved twice before in men’s T20s. Al Amin Hossain took five wickets in an over against Abahani Limited playing for UCB-BCB XI in the Victory Day T20 Cup in 2013-14. The other was when Karnataka’s Abhimanyu Mithun dismissed five Haryana batters in the semi-final of the Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy 2019-20.
While this is the first time a bowler has taken five in an over in an international game, there have been 14 instances of a bowler taking four in an over before today. The most famous of these was when Sri Lanka’s Lasith Malinga famously took four in four balls in the third over of a T20Is against New Zealand in 2019.
[Cricinfo]
Implementation of the loan scheme, “Sustainable Agriculture Program”
Cabinet nod to implement ‘Suraksha’ Student Insurance Programme in the year 2025 / 26
Establishment of Consultancy Boards for strengthening and promoting local production industries.
Match fees more than doubled for women’s domestic cricketers in India
National progress can be achieved only when everyone fulfills the responsibilities entrusted to them with steadfast determination, unity of purpose and resilience in the face of any challenge – President
Indonesia’s Gede Priandana becomes first to pick five wickets in an over in T20Is
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