Sports
Dinara and Aahil crowned ITF J30 week 2 champions at SSC
The ITF J30 Week 2 Junior Tennis Tournament concluded at the SSC Courts on Sunday with Sri Lanka’s rising stars Dinara de Silva and Aahil Kaleel emerging as the girls’ and boys’ singles champions respectively.
The St. Bridget’s Convent, Colombo player produced a commanding performance in the girls’ singles final, defeating fellow Sri Lankan Yuhansa Peiris 4-1, 4-1 to secure the title. The victory marked another significant achievement for one of the country’s leading junior players.
According to family sources, the tournament is expected to be Dinara’s final ITF Junior event on Sri Lankan soil, making the title triumph a memorable farewell appearance before she turns her attention to competitions abroad.
In the boys’ singles final, S. Thomas’ College, Mount Lavinia player Aahil Kaleel battled back strongly to defeat India’s Chauhan Shiok 4-5, 4-0, 10-6 in an entertaining contest. After narrowly losing the opening set, Aahil dominated the second set before holding his nerve in the match tie-break to clinch the championship.
The victory was historic for Aahil, who became the first Sri Lankan player in 14 years to win the boys’ singles title at an ITF Junior tournament held in Sri Lanka. The last local player to achieve the feat was Shamal Dissanayake, who captured the title in 2012.
Adding further significance to the double success, both Dinara and Aahil train under the guidance of the Dineshkanthan Tennis School, highlighting the academy’s growing contribution to the development of Sri Lankan junior tennis.
The tournament concluded on a positive note for Sri Lanka, with local players claiming both singles titles and demonstrating the promising future of the country’s next generation of tennis talent.
The annual rugby encounter between Dharmaraja College and Kingswood College, played for the William Weerasinghe Memorial Trophy, is set to take place today (July 11, 2026), at 4:00 PM at the Bogambara Stadium, Kandy.
The official unveiling of the trophy took place this week at the Dharmaraja College premises with the participation of the Principals of the two schools, teachers-in-charge of sports, coaches, the Rugby teams, and several distinguished guests, including Dharmaraja College Old Boys’ Association President Mahesh Wijetunga, Kingswood College Old Boys’ Association President Muditha Abeykoon,
Text and Pic by SK Samaranayake
The annual rugby encounter between Dharmaraja College and Kingswood College, played for the William Weerasinghe Memorial Trophy, is set to take place tomorrow (July 11, 2026), at 4:00 PM at the Bogambara Stadium, Kandy.
The official unveiling of the trophy took place this week at the Dharmaraja College premises with the participation of the Principals of the two schools, teachers-in-charge of sports, coaches, the Rugby teams, and several distinguished guests, including Dharmaraja College Old Boys’ Association President Mahesh Wijetunga, Kingswood College Old Boys’ Association President Muditha Abeykoon,
by S K SAMARANAYAKE
Kylian Mbappe and Ousmane Dembele were on target as France surged past Morocco 2-0 to book their place in the World Cup semifinals.
Mbappe curled in his eighth goal of the tournament on 60 minutes on Thursday before Dembele doubled Les Bleus’ lead six minutes later to settle a clinical victory at the Gillette Stadium outside Boston.
The win sends the 2018 champions into a last-four showdown against either Spain or Belgium in Arlington, Texas on Tuesday.
African champions Morocco had been tipped to pose a serious threat to France’s hopes of reaching a third consecutive World Cup final.
But Didier Deschamps’ men were always in control against a limited Morocco side who failed to register a single shot on goal until an 83rd-minute free-kick by Azzedine Ounahi was parried away by France goalkeeper Mike Maignan.
France, though, struggled to find a breakthrough, and missed the opportunity to take the lead on 28 minutes when Mbappe saw a penalty saved by Morocco goalkeeper Yassine Bounou.
Mbappe had won the penalty after being brought down by Noussair Mazraoui but was forced to wait several minutes before being allowed to take the kick after a protracted VAR check.
Morocco managed to hold out to half-time, but it was always only a matter of time before France’s relentless pressure paid off.
The breakthrough came on the hour mark, with Mbappe bending a brilliant right-foot shot past Bounou from the edge of the area.
Paris Saint-Germain star Dembele made the game safe in the 66th minute, striding forward menacingly from midfield before steering a low finish into the bottom corner.
France now await the winner of Friday’s quarterfinal in Los Angeles between European champions Spain and Belgium.
[Aljazeera]
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