Sports

Of Sports Schools and schools sports

Published

6 years ago

2020/08/26

The absence of infrastructure at Ratnayake Central was compensated by well laid out individualized training plans for each sports scholarship holder. It was the key to Ratnayake Central dominating All Island Schools Games.

by Reemus Fernando

Introduced to the education structure with the objective of nurturing future sportsmen and women of Sri Lanka, the two dozen Sports Schools doting the island from north to south have lasted three decades without going through a proper scrutiny. Names of majority of Sports Schools are not even heard of when the All Island Schools Games are held annually. While semi government, private and international schools have gone on to dominate school sports, some half a dozen Sports Schools have survived the gross negligence of education authorities and storms of change that have swept through the schools set up during the last two decades to perform relatively well.

The success of these few schools were purely due to the dedication of a few qualified individuals who had gone out of their way to uplift standards. With the Education Ministry and the Sports Ministry preparing to upgrade the standard of Sports Schools around the country it should be noted that while addressing the infrastructure needs, emphasis should also be given to appoint qualified and dedicated officials to take responsibilities of these institutions.

When the Sports Schools were started in 1989 with the Ibbagamuwa Central as the first such school the project was overseen by an Education Ministry official who had obtained his sports education qualifications from a reputed institution in Germany. The decisions relating to physical education and sports in the Ministry of Education had his influence. Results were available to see in the form of success in athletics at Asian level during the late 90s and early 2000s with athletes who came through that system later graduating with the help of top level coaches. Ministry of Education has a handful of qualified individuals who are operating as instructors or coaches but at decision making level they do not have a say.

Infrastructure verses qualified officials

Ratnayake Central Walala, the only Sports School to have maintained the supremacy in track and field sports right throughout does not have a proper ground to date, not even a proper 200 metres track. The absence of infrastructure was compensated by well laid out individualized training plan for each sports scholarship holder. Susantha Fernando who was instrumental in guiding the destiny of many top level athletes also had an eye for talent identification and made sure the school had a continuous supply of raw talent every year. The school boasts of Asian Junior Athletics Championships medallists to Olympic participants to South Asian Games medallists. Fernando’s training was responsible for the majority of medals won at the last South Asian Games as well.

Sumana Balika, Ratnapura was probably the next best Sports School in the girls category taking in to consideration the number of times the school became runners-up to Ratnayake Central. Once again it was the coaching qualifications of an individual that mattered. Sumana Balika excelled as long as R.B. Palitha was their instructor. Seevali Central the other Sports School of Ratnapura had a similar experience. They could dominate as long as Palitha was their mentor.

Henegama Central did well during Prabath Fernando’s stint and Rajasinghe Central is the only Sports School in the Western Province to maintain its stature as a Sports School with Jayalal Ratnasuriya, a qualified World Athletics coach overseeing the progress of its athletes. Vijitha Central, Dickwella and Kuliyapitiya Central are among few other Sports Schools to have made their presence felt during the last several years.

No amount of infrastructure development can make a Sports School competitive. Once a stronghold of Sri Lanka’s national sport, volleyball, the name of Sports School Senanayake MV, Madampe is hardly heard these days. Ibbagamuwa Central, the first Sports School is not functioning though the school’s instructor trains a few high jumpers. Some of the 23 Sports Schools are either not operating at all or are performing below par. Had there been qualified individuals in the Ministry of Education to scrutinies these institutions.

Talent identification failures and emergence of private schools

One of the brightest prospects to emerge from the schools system during the last few years is Asian Junior Athletics Championship gold medallist Aruna Dharshana. Hailing from Seruwila, Trincomalee, Dharshana bypassed several Sports Schools in two other districts to find refuge at Weera Keppetipola MV, Akuramboda. He was lucky to have the guidance of Asanka Rajakaruna at that Sports School. Wasn’t there a system to identify his talent at his home place? Trincomalee is home to two Sports Schools.

While the standards of Sports Schools were crumbling, a good number of private and government schools had given priority to sports and athletics in particular. A number of schools in Colombo and Kandy and International Schools elsewhere started investing heavily on sports during the last one and half decades. Sports training at these schools are no longer overseen by officials attached to Ministry of Education. For example, the track and field coach of a leading government school in Colombo is a sports officer of the Ministry of Sports and a qualified World Athletics coach and instructor. These schools have been responsible in producing many athletes to represent Sri Lanka at junior Asian and junior World level. The emergence of these schools has also given rise to an unprecedented talent exodus from outstations.

A particular school in Colombo launched a recruitment drive during the last three years to an extent that that school now has the luxury of winning the All Island Schools track and field title with their second string. Some of these schools hellbent on winning have gone on to the extent of jeopardizing the education of these recruits from outstations. Many junior athletes recruited from outstations find themselves out of place in the midst of their English-speaking classmates and hardly attend classes. They are guaranteed jobs when they are recruited and find education non essential. To be continued……………..

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Yashasvi Jaiswal powers Royals past Mumbai Indians in 11-over thrash

Published

18 hours ago

2026/04/8

Priyan

Yashasvi Jaiswal was all smiles at the end of the match [Cricinfo]

Heavy rain in Guwahati delayed the start of the match between Rajasthan Royals (RR) and Mumbai Indians (MI) by more than two and a half hours. And when play finally began at 10.10 pm, there was another storm awaiting MI.

RR’s openers Yashasvi Jaiswal and Vaibhav Sooriyavanshi ransacked 80 runs in five overs. Sooryavanshi was eventually dismissed for 39 off 14, but Jaiswal rampaged unbeaten through the 11-over innings, scoring 77 off 32 to power RR to 150 for 3.

In reply, MI lost three wickets inside the powerplay, which was reduced to 3.2 overs, and were eventually restricted to 123 for 9. Jofra Archer had provided the first breakthrough, and Sandeep Sharma, Nandre Burger and Ravi Bishnoi picked up two wickets apiece. RR moved to the top of the points table with three wins in three games, while MI suffered their second successive defeat.

Sooryavanshi and Jaiswal don’t need to be told to be aggressive, and that natural instinct was heightened in a rain-shortened contest. If there was any moisture in the pitch due to the weather, there was no evidence of it in the powerplay. MI chose to give the first over not to Trent Boult but to Deepak Chahar and Jaiswal tore into him: 4, 6, 4, 0, 4, 4.

Then came the highly-anticipated battle: 15-year old Vaibhav Sooryavanshi facing Jasprit Bumrah for the first time in his fledgling career. How would he approach one of the greatest bowlers in the game? Bumrah’s first ball was a slot ball. Sooryavanshi played the delivery and not the deliverer, and smashed it over the long-on boundary. The strike rotated back to him over the next two balls, and when Bumrah tested him with an off-pace delivery, Sooryavanshi swivelled and pulled him for another six over deep backward square leg. Round one – 13 off 5 balls – to Sooryavanshi.

Boult came on for the third over and Jaiswal cleared the deep square leg boundary twice and Sooryavanshi once, and by the time the 20-ball powerplay was finished, RR were 59 for 0.

Jaiswal is usually boom or bust against MI. Before this match, he had two centuries and five scores of less than 15 in eight innings against them. On Tuesday, he went boom again, smashing four fours and three sixes in his first nine deliveries. He got to fifty off 23 balls by cracking Hardik Pandya through point.

Sooryavanshi fell to the golden arm of Shardul Thakur, Dhruv Jurel and Riyan Parag fell to the mystery spin of AM Ghazanfar, but Jaiswal didn’t stop. He clobbered Bumrah for a straight six and picked three fours off Shardul in the final over to take RR to 150.

Like they had with the ball, MI suffered 20 balls of powerplay mayhem with the bat. Facing an asking rate of nearly 14, Ryan Rickelton swung Jofra Archer for six over deep midwicket but then top-edged another pull and was caught by Jurel running back. Suryakumar Yadav paddled Nandre Burger for the flattest of sixes over fine leg but was deceived by a hard-length offcutter and caught at deep backward square a ball later. Rohit was pinned lbw for the sixth time in 13 IPL innings by Sandeep. While RR’s powerplay score was 59 for 0; MI responded with 29 for 3.

The pitch had become a little tacky as the match progressed and the RR quicks adapted by using their cutters to good effect. Legspinner Ravi Bishnoi extended his lead at the top of the Purple Cap charts by dismissing Hardik and Tilak Varma in his first over, reducing MI to 46 for 5 after five overs. He should have had a third in his next over, when Sherfane Rutherford miscued to long-on but Jaiswal dropped the chance.

With the required rate soaring to past 17 an over, Naman Dhir and Rutherford tried to revive the chase with a partnership of 47 in 17 balls. But any slim hope MI may have had was extinguished when Sandeep dived forward at short third to take a low catch to end Rutherford’s innings. Burger, Sandeep and Archer closed out the innings to seal RR’s victory by 27 runs.

Brief scores: [11 overs per team]
Rajasthan Royals 150 for 3 in 11 overs (Yashasvi Jaiswal 77*, Vaibhav Sooryavanshi 39, Riyan Parag 20; Shardul Thakur 1-36, AM Ghazanfar 2-21) beat Mumbai Indians 123 for 9 in 11 overs (Tilak Varma 14, Sherfane Rutherford 25, Naman Dhir 25; Jofra Archer 1-17, Nandre Burger 2-21, Sandeep Sharma 2-26, Tushar Deshpande 1-29, Ravi Bishnoi 2-25) by 27 runs

[Cricinfo]

Sports

Sri Lanka women eye giant-killing act under Siddons

Published

23 hours ago

2026/04/8

Sahan Weerasooriya

Jamie Siddons

Sri Lanka have turned to seasoned Australian campaigner Jammie Siddons to steady the ship and sharpen their edge, with the new women’s head coach making it clear that toppling heavyweights, not merely making up the numbers, will be the name of the game.

Siddons, a well-travelled coach with miles on the clock, has set his sights firmly on the upcoming Women’s World Cup in England, where Sri Lanka will open proceedings against the hosts at Edgbaston in June. It’s a baptism by fire, England in their own backyard, but the message from the dressing room is simple: try and beat top teams regularly.

Drawn alongside England, West Indies, New Zealand, Ireland and Scotland in a six-team group, Sri Lanka know there’s little room for passengers. It’s sink or swim.

“The World Cup is our big focus and we’ve got some tough games coming up,” Siddons told reporters on the sidelines of a floodlit training session at the CCC. “England at home will be a hard nut to crack. West Indies and New Zealand are quality sides as well.”

Before the main event, Sri Lanka will have a dress rehearsal in Bangladesh, a chance to blood fresh faces.

“We’re heading to Bangladesh before the World Cup and that gives us an opportunity to look at some of the new players coming through,” Siddons added, casting an eye on the next crop.

Sri Lanka’s women have made steady strides over the past two years under Rumesh Rathnayake, but as any seasoned observer will tell you, fine margins often decide games at this level and there are still a few loose ends to tie up.

Fielding, particularly in the deep, has been their Achilles’ heel. Dropped catches have cost them dear, while a lack of firepower with the bat has meant they’ve often been caught playing catch-up against the game’s heavyweights; Australia, England and India.

“From a bowling perspective, we need a few more tricks in the bag. The girls have to develop variations, slower balls, cutters and cut down the boundaries. That’s something we’ve been working on,” he said, underlining the need to outthink rather than outmuscle opponents.

For years, Sri Lanka have leaned heavily on the broad shoulders of Chamari Atapattu, their talisman, their match-winner, their go-to player when the chips are down. Siddons knows that while Chamari remains the crown jewel, cricket is no one-woman show.

“She’s our major player and we’ve depended a lot on her,” he admitted. “But we need a few more to put their hands up. Chamari still has plenty to offer.”

Encouragingly, Siddons has already spotted bright talents in the pace department, a rare commodity in the women’s game in Sri Lanka.

“I’ve seen a couple of very exciting fast bowling talents who haven’t played much yet. They could be key for us,” he said, hinting at new-ball options that could ruffle a few feathers.

Off the field, Sri Lanka Cricket has invested heavily over the last five years, the board has cast the net wide taking the game to schools, strengthening domestic competitions and ensuring a steady pipeline of talent.

There has been no shortage of cricket either, with bilateral series home and away giving players valuable time in the middle. The Under-19 side is currently cutting its teeth in Australia, while development squads are being kept busy with regular tours and fixtures.

Central contracts and match fees are now part of the furniture, a far cry from the hand-to-mouth existence of yesteryear, though there remains room for improvement.

https://www.telecomasia.net/

Sports

Deemantha’s unbeaten century sets up thrilling final-day finish

Published

23 hours ago

2026/04/8

Sahan Weerasooriya

Thusindu Deemantha

An absorbing contest is on the cards during the morning session on the final day as the next 28 overs are likely to decide the finalist from the first semi final of the Under 19 Division I Tier ‘A’ tournament between St. Joseph’s College and Prince of Wales College at the D.H.H. Ground, Madampella today.

‎The semi-final moved towards a tense first innings finish after Prince of Wales reached 242 for five at stumps on the second day in reply to St. Joseph’s commanding first innings total of 354.

‎Open batsman Thusindu Deemantha played a remarkable innings of patience and determination, remaining unbeaten on 102 to keep the Cambrians’ hopes alive. His knock clearly reflected Prince of Wales’ strategy of batting for first innings points against the strong Darley Road outfit.

‎Deemantha displayed admirable grit to anchor the innings, facing as many as 248 deliveries during his stay at the crease. His unbeaten century included eight boundaries and he is set to resume his innings for a third consecutive day today after having first walked in to bat on Monday evening.

‎From the outset it was evident that Prince of Wales were aiming to stretch their innings as long as possible in pursuit of first innings advantage. According to tournament regulations, the first innings is restricted to 120 overs and the Cambrians now have 28 overs remaining to surpass the Josephian total.

‎St. Joseph’s bowlers will be eager to make early breakthroughs and expose the lower order to their formidable spin trio of Vigneswaran Akash, Vishwa Peiris and Nushan Perera. The three spinners dominated proceedings on the second day, accounting for 76 of the 92 overs bowled to Prince of Wales.

‎While Nushan Perera and Vishwa Peiris maintained tight control with economy rates below 2.5 runs per over, Akash bowled his 20 overs for just over three runs an over. Peiris was the most successful among them with two wickets.

‎For Prince of Wales, Oshan Maneesha contributed a valuable 38 runs while Gavesha Fernando played an important supporting role. Fernando joined Deemantha in a crucial 108-run fourth wicket partnership that steadied the innings and carried the Cambrians closer to the Josephian total.

‎With Deemantha firmly set at the crease and the Cambrians still needing to close the gap, the opening session today promises a gripping battle as both teams fight for a place in the final. (RF)