Sports
University sports continue virtually with Gamer.LK’s Inter-University Championship
With traditional sports coming to a standstill in the pandemic-stricken “new normal” – Esports take the limelight as university students go head-to-head virtually in their favorite video games. Organised annually by Sri Lanka’s premier Esports tournament organiser Gamer.LK, the Inter-University Esports Championship powered by Softlogic and Dell this year will attract participation surpassing those of its traditional sports counterparts. Samsung Sri Lanka joins as Smartphone partner and the event is energized by Red Bull.
Held for the sixth consecutive year, the event features 16 of Sri Lanka’s favorite video game titles spanning mobile, PC and console. University students from across the country are able to participate remotely from the safety of their own homes, coming together in a virtual arena connected via the internet. The featured titles are Call of Duty 4 – 5v5, Call of Duty Mobile – Solo, Clash Royale – 1v1, DOTA 2 – 5v5, FIFA 21 – 1v1, Assetto Corsa – Race, Free Fire – Solo, League of Legends – 5v5, Mario Kart Tour – 1v1, Mobile Legends – 5v5, Rainbow Six Siege – 5v5, Real Cricket – 1v1, Rocket League – 1v1, PUBG Mobile – Solo, Valorant – 5v5, Call of Duty: Warzone (exhibition) – Solo.
Last year’s championship was the first time the event was taken online fully, and still saw no shortage of players. There were over 630 registered players across 57 universities and higher education institutions from all over Sri Lanka. The competition between the universities has also never been more fierce, with each year a different university stepping up to take the title of champion from former victors.
Previous winners of the Inter-University Esports Championship:
● 2020 – National School of Business Management (NSBM)
● 2019 – Informatics Institute of Technology (IIT)
● 2018 – Sri Lanka Institute of Information Technology (SLIIT)
● 2017 – International College of Business & Technology (ICBT)
● 2016 – Asia Pacific Institute of Information Technology (APIIT)
This year’s Inter-University Esports Championship is powered by Softlogic and Dell. Softlogic Holdings PLC is a diversified conglomerate in Sri Lanka, and is known to be one of Sri Lanka’s most dynamic and progressive conglomerates, with industry leadership in six business verticals — ICT, Healthcare, Retail, Financial Services, Automobiles and Leisure.
Softlogic has always been in the forefront of introducing the best technologies the world has to offer to the Sri Lankan consumer. Softlogic has contributed to the development of the Sri Lankan IT infrastructure immensely over the years through decades of dedicated service as a retailer of high quality consumer electronics.
It is this same ambition that drove Softlogic to officially become an authorized distributor of Dell laptops and computers in Sri Lanka in early 1990s. Since then, Softlogic has been offering a wide range of computers and laptops suitable to be used at home, work, to study, gaming or simply for entertainment.
With the global demand for e-sports on the rise, Softlogic has been an avid supporter of the growing gaming community in Sri Lanka. To extend this support to the gaming communities, Softlogic will offer some of the world’s best Gaming Dell laptops and computers at unbeatable prices, exclusive discounts plus interest free easy payment schemes via all Softlogic and Softlogic MAX outlets island-wide, as well as on www.mysoftlogic.lk.
Samsung Sri Lanka comes onboard as the official Smartphone Partner. Samsung has been at the forefront of developing products and services for gamers and promoting E-sports in Sri Lanka over the years, as it was identified that the youth are very passionate about it. As a result, Samsung has successfully initiated and completed three large scale gaming competitions in 2020 alone with over 1000 participants from all around Sri Lanka and a staggering 175,000 people streaming the tournaments each time. Samsung continues to amplify E-Sports in Sri Lanka not only with such events but with their products as well. Samsung’s recent introduction of Galaxy S21 series has features such as Game booster technology, display with 120Hz refresh rate, gaming processors and much more on offer. Samsung has revitalised their technology to be more focused on proving the ultimate gaming experience to its users.
Red Bull steps up to Energize the championship with their signature brand of flair and energy. Giving wings to Sri Lankan gamers by partnering with and conducting unique Esports events, Red Bull has been a significant part of Sri Lanka’s Esports growth over the years. Red Bull Campus Cricket was replicated on the virtual battlefield with Red Bull Campus Clutch earlier this year, where Sri Lanka’s top campus Valorant team was given the opportunity to represent the country on a global stage. Red Bull MEO was conducted in 2020 giving Sri Lankan PUBG Mobile athletes the opportunity to showcase their skills amongst the world’s best. One of Sri Lanka’s largest PUBG Mobile events in 2021, Red Bull Fight or Flight, had over 400 squads competing for glory.
Registrations for the Inter-University Esports Championship will conclude on the 29th of June.
It is with deep sorrow that we announce the passing of Mr. S. K. Sangakkara, Attorney-at-Law. He was the loving husband of Kumarie, beloved father to Thusharie, Vemindra, Saranga, and Kumar, loved father-in-law to Sanjay, Nipuni, Ru, and Yehali, adored grand father to Thehan, Methvan, Nethya, Vinaya, Kaya, Seth, Kavith and Swyree.
His remains will lie at his residence in Kandy for relatives and friends to pay their last respects. We also ask that the privacy of the family be respected.
The funeral will take place on the 4th of March 2026 at 6.00 p.m. at the Mahaiyawa Cemetery, Kandy. The cortège will leave the residence at 4.30 p.m.
He will be dearly missed by his loving family, friends, colleagues, and all who knew him.
Jammu and Kashmir’s maiden triumph in India’s premier domestic championship last week is more than a sporting milestone – it is one of the most stirring stories in the country’s cricket.
The Ranji Trophy, one of the oldest first-class competitions in the sport, sits at the heart of the game in the world’s most powerful cricketing nation.
To win it is to claim a place in the country’s cricketing mainstream; for Jammu and Kashmir, it marks a breakthrough that was decades in the making.
Cricket in the disputed region dates back to the colonial era, when the Kashmir Willow – prized for its strength and resilience – helped craft bats that powered the sport across India.
For decades, the region was scarred by insurgency, political turmoil and a deep sense of alienation – tensions that culminated in 2019 when Delhi revoked Jammu and Kashmir’s autonomy and split the state into two new federally-administered territories.
Yet, even through these upheavals, passion for cricket ran deep. Success, however, proved elusive.
That changed over a remarkable fortnight.
In a season overshadowed by the ongoing high-voltage T20 World Cup, where India are defending champions, it was this unfancied northern side that quietly commanded attention.
After defeating seven-time champions Delhi to enter the knockouts, Jammu and Kashmir gathered momentum.
Former champions Madhya Pradesh fell in the quarter-finals. Bengal were subdued in the semi-finals. In the final, stood eight-time winners Karnataka, boasting four current internationals – KL Rahul, Mayank Agarwal, Karun Nair and Prasidh Krishna – and overwhelming experience.
Jammu and Kashmir were the underdogs and most expected them to falter. Instead, they produced cricket of composure, skill and steel, outplaying their decorated opponents to claim India’s premier first-class title.
The breakthrough did not come out of nowhere.
Over the past decade, the team has flirted with history, reaching the quarter-finals three times and missing last year’s semi-final by the slimmest of margins – a one-run first-innings deficit against Kerala.
The Jammu and Kashmir Cricket Association was formed in 1959-60. It has taken nearly 67 years – marked by political upheaval, institutional neglect and chronic underinvestment – for the region to complete the circle and reach the summit of Indian domestic cricket.
For decades, cricket’s real power centres lay elsewhere: Mumbai, Delhi, Kolkata, Chennai and Bengaluru. Proximity to these hubs – of money, infrastructure and influence – often determined how quickly cricket flourished in a state.
Jammu and Kashmir, geographically and politically distant from these nerve centres, remained on the margins – a cricketing outpost far removed from the game’s corridors of power.
A lack of basic infrastructure, scant coaching facilities and self-serving administration stunted cricket’s growth for decades. That Jammu and Kashmir won their first Ranji match only in 1982-83 – more than 20 years after gaining state association status – underlines how halting that progress was.
In 1983, during a match in Srinagar city against Clive Lloyd’s touring West Indies, Indian players were booed and jeered – a spectacle that prompted authorities to sideline the state from hosting major fixtures.
The hostility reflected a deepening political alienation in the Muslim-dominated Kashmir region, where resentment against Delhi over autonomy and governance was already simmering. Though a full-blown insurgency against Indian rule would erupt only in 1989, the faultlines were visible.
In 1986, Allan Border’s Australians played what would prove to be the last international match in Kashmir. Four decades on, top-level cricket has yet to return.
Cricket in Jammu and Kashmir began to turn a corner over the past 15 years as militancy ebbed and political volatility eased. With greater stability came long-missing attention to development and structure.
Three clear inflection points underpin the team’s rise.
The first came between 2011 and 2013, when former India captain Bishen Singh Bedi took charge as coach. He transformed a side burdened by diffidence into one that believed it belonged – urging players long overawed by reputation to compete as equals on the national stage.
Pervez Rasool, the first cricketer from Jammu and Kashmir to play for India, was among the chief beneficiaries of Bedi’s confidence-building approach – a debt he has acknowledged in recent years.
The second inflection point came in 2018-19, when the state association brought in former India all-rounder Irfan Pathan as player-cum-mentor. During his two seasons with the side, Pathan said his central message was simple: shed regional faultlines and play as one team.
That phase unearthed notable talent, including batsman Abdul Samad and the explosive fast bowler Umran Malik – only the second cricketer from Jammu and Kashmir to represent India.
The third inflection point came about five years ago, when the state association was replaced by an Apex Council to oversee the game. It was headed by Mithun Manhas, a former Delhi stalwart born in Jammu who had also played a season for J&K – blending administrative authority with local roots and top-tier experience.
Manhas, now the head of the Indian cricket board, professionalised the set-up, appointing his former Delhi teammate Ajay Sharma as coach and tightening structures around the team.
Top-tier infrastructure followed, along with modern coaching methods – scientific fitness, nutrition planning and structured mental conditioning – bringing the set-up in line with national standards.
Paras Dogra, a seasoned and prolific domestic batsman, was drafted in as captain to anchor the rebuild. Selectors then cast the net wide, scouting both established and emerging talent.
At 41, Dogra proved a natural leader – delivering his own best while elevating those around him, a journey that culminated in this year’s coveted title.
Several batsmen and bowlers stood out, but the spearhead was fast bowler Aquib Nabi, who finished the season with 60 wickets. He had claimed 44 the previous year, earning an IPL contract with the Delhi Daredevils.
Many observers believe he is ready for the highest level – the national team. Former India captain Sourav Ganguly was among those who publicly endorsed him, saying Nabi has the tools to play Test cricket for India.
Whether, and how soon, that leap to the international stage comes remains uncertain.
What is beyond doubt is the significance of Jammu and Kashmir’s surge as a cricketing force – a rise that, in its improbable sweep, recalls Afghanistan’s ascent in the global game.
For India, it matters in at least two profound ways.
First, it underscores how deeply and widely cricket’s footprint now runs across the country – a key reason India stands as the pre-eminent force in the global game.
Second, this triumph offers the beleaguered federally-administered territory and its people something long yearned for: a meaningful stake in the national mainstream through shared pride and sporting excellence.
[BBC]
Zimbabwe have become the first team at the T20 World Cup to be affected by the closure of air spaces in West Asia, and will remain in India for the foreseeable future after their final match against South Africa on Sunday.
West Indies have also been forced to delay their departure from India*, due to “security threats posed by military action in the Gulf region”, CWI announced on Monday.
“CWI is working closely with the ICC, relevant governmental authorities and airline partners to secure the earliest possible safe travel arrangements for the squad and support staff,” the board said in a release. “The safety and wellbeing of our players, coaches, and officials remain our highest priority.
“The team is currently accommodated in India and remains safe and well. We continue to monitor the situation closely and will provide further updates as confirmed travel arrangements are finalised.”
Tournament organisers have been exploring alternative routes to get teams home as they finish their campaigns at the T20 World Cup in India and Sri Lanka. ESPNcricinfo understands that the Zimbabwe contingent was due to return home in batches, with some leaving as early as 4.30am on Monday morning and the rest to follow later in the day. They were booked on Emirates flights, which would take them from Delhi to Dubai and then on to Harare.
While it is understood that other airlines and routes are being considered, Zimbabwe are booked to stay at their Delhi hotel until March 4.
“No, not that I’ve heard of,” Zimbabwe’s coach Justin Sammons said when asked if there was clarity over the team’s travel plans. “When we started the game there wasn’t anything. And now we’ve just been focused on the game, so I’ve not heard anything since.”
Pakistan, who played their final Super Eight game on Saturday and were knocked out of the tournament, have returned to Lahore from Colombo via a Sri Lankan airlines flight.
On Saturday morning, the USA and Israel exchanged missile strikes with Iran, leading to the closure of airspace over several countries in West Asia, disrupting air travel to the region and also internationally, with several airlines having to cancel flights or change routes.
The ICC, in a statement on Saturday, said it had been monitoring the evolving situation and had “activated comprehensive contingency plans to safeguard the travel, logistics and well-being of all stakeholders” at the 2026 T20 World Cup.
“While the crisis in the Middle East has no direct bearing on the conduct of the tournament, the ICC acknowledges that a significant number of personnel – including players, team management, match officials, broadcast teams, and event staff – rely on Gulf hub airports, particularly Dubai (DXB), as key transit points for onward travel to their home countries upon concluding their commitments at the event,” the ICC said in a statement.
“The ICC Travel and Logistics team is actively working with major international carriers to identify and secure alternative routing options, including connections through European, South Asian and South-East Asian hubs. The ICC security consultants are liaising with relevant authorities and will provide real-time advisories as the situation develops. A dedicated ICC Travel Support Desk has also been activated.”
[Cricinfo]
Israel attacks presidential office in Tehran as reported death toll in Iran rises to 787
Attorney At Law S K Sangakkara pasess away
SriLankan Airlines Update on Middle East Operations
Trump says Iran war projected to last 4 to 5 weeks, could go ‘far longer’
Qatar downs two Iranian fighter jets as conflict widens
Jammu and Kashmir’s long road to India cricketing glory
‘Dates have the highest sugar content to fight Coronavirus’
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