Sports
Dr. Cyril’s journey in Taekwondo has been fruitful
by A Special Sports Correspondent
Taekwondo in Sri Lanka has made a tough and challenging journey after it was introduced to the islanders by Deshamanya Master Dr. Cyril Antony to the island back on December 12th, 1976.
Those were the days when Bruce Lee’s films were sown in Asia and there was a great following for martial arts. The same environment prevailed here in Sri Lanka as well. After Dr. Antony picked up the rudiments of Taekwondo in Canada-where its founder General Choi Hong Hi was residing-he decided to make a quick return home and spread the sport island-wide.
However, Dr. Antony’s beginnings in martial arts had more to do with Kyokushin karate; a martial art where its players resorted to heavy blows and full contact fighting. According to Dr. Antony, Taekwondo is a much safer sport than karate due to its rhythmic and circular movements. “I respect karate because I cut my teeth in martial arts by learning it. But I realised that my future was with Taekwondo once I learned it in Canada,” said Antony in an interview with The Island.
There was a large following for the sport when he introduced it. But the numbers wanting to try it shot up largely because he had a successful stint as a referee at the World Championships in 1978. He was just 30 years old then when he achieved this feat.
At the inception, he started classes in Colombo, Kandy, Badulla, Wattala, Ratnapura, and Kuliyapitiya. “I used my personal contacts to promote the sport. There was much help for me because there was no politics involved with the sport back then,” he recalled. All these activities were made possible through his ‘club’-the Sri Lanka Taekwondo Association (SLTA).
As the sport gathered momentum here in Sri Lanka he registered the SLTA as the Sri Lanka Taekwondo Federation with the Ministry of Sports in 1984. Before that, exactly two years earlier, he registered Taekwondo as a national sport with the Ministry of Sports. All this was done with the good intention of promoting the sport and not with the aim of basking in personal glory.
However, things fell out of place when, in the year 1996, the then Minister of Sports took steps to suspend the registration of the Sri Lanka Taekwondo Federation. No reasons were given for this harsh action. The Sports Minister appointed an interim committee to oversee the administration of the federation and included his name among the list of administrators. But Dr. Antony soon fell out with the rest of the interim committee, so decided to go on his own.
Dr. Cyril Antony’s students perform during a Taekwondo demonstration
Reflecting on the suspension Dr. Antony said, “I think they wanted to benefit from the aid sent to us from South Korea for the purpose of promoting the sport here. I don’t think the Ministry of Sports had any legitimate right to suspend our registration because we didn’t receive any government funding or support.”
So between the years 1976 and 2021 the Sri Lanka Taekwondo Association, functioning in the capacity of a club promoted the sport in the island and served this nation in silence. To date there are as many as 200 committed students and eight qualified instructors there to promote the sport.
On December 12 last year the Sri Lanka Taekwondo Association held a ceremony to mark the occasion of the sport being present in Sri Lanka for a period of 45 years. It was held at the residence of Dr. Antony; the event was well attended by his students, teachers, his close associates, and the few representatives of the media.
Looking back at the hard journey made thus far Dr. Antony said, “I think we did better as an association that functioned without ties with the Ministry”. For the record his son Uditha and daughter Nayanajeevi are also full-time students training under him.
He added that Taekwondo being an Olympic sport was an added advantage to those practising it. “Our suspension took away the glory from the sport practised here,” he said.
Speaking further on the matter he said when he visited the archives of the Sports Ministry he had been told that there were no documents there to show that the Sri Lanka Taekwondo Federation was suspended. However, the federation is at present functioning under an elected body; in which Dr. Antony plays no role.
As things are Dr. Antony will continue to function through his Association which is serving the sport well. He has a great following in the sport and the name Dr. Cyril Antony is interwoven with Taekwondo in Sri Lanka. The sport owes a great deal to him because according to Dr. Antony he has spent the best years of his life promoting Taekwondo. He has grown old in the sport and he cannot even dream of divorcing himself from the sport he loves so much.
The India and Zimbabwe women’s teams are all set to play an international fixture against each other for the first time when Zimbabwe tour India for white-ball fixtures this October.
The tour comprises three T20Is and three ODIs and will be Zimbabwe’s first visit to India; India are yet to tour Zimbabwe for bilateral fixtures.
The three T20Is will be played in Raipur on October 16, 18 and 20, and the ODIs are on October 23, 25 and 28 in Baroda.
The fixtures were announced by the BCCI on Wednesday, along with two home series for the India A women’s side against Australia A in September and England A in December. Both those series comprise three T20s, three List A games and one multi-day fixture.
The India Under-19 women’s team will also host Sri Lanka U-19 in June and July for three T20s and three 50-over games, and England U-19 in November and December for five T20 fixtures.
The Australia A men’s side will tour India for two multi-day fixtures and three one-dayers in September and October, while the Australia U-19 side will visit India for two multi-day fixtures and three one-dayers also in September and October.
[Cricinfo]
Sports
Fast bowlers to get more opportunities as new format introduced for Under-15 Division I tourney
The Inter-Schools Under-15 Division I cricket tournament will be conducted under a revamped format this year, with organisers shifting the focus back to limited-overs cricket while introducing new rules aimed at promoting fast bowling.
The tournament, organised by the Sri Lanka Schools Cricket Association (SLSCA), will see only the top-tier Division I competition played in a 50-over format. Meanwhile, Division II and Division III matches will continue under the one-day, four-innings structure.
SLSCA Secretary Saman Hettiarachchi said the changes were made following consultations with experts from Sri Lanka Cricket, with a clear objective of providing greater opportunities for pace bowlers.
”We opted for the limited-overs format for Division I in consultation with Sri Lanka Cricket. The lower divisions will copete in the innings format as we have observed matches ending early without utilizing the full quota of overs,” Hettiarachchi told ‘The Island’.
A key feature of the revised rules is the compulsory allocation of overs for fast bowlers. In a full 50-over innings, a minimum of 20 overs must be bowled by pacemen. Additionally, during the first 10 overs, at least eight overs must be delivered by fast bowlers. If an innings is reduced to 30 overs or fewer, at least six of the first eight overs must be bowled by pace.
”It was made mandatory to give more opportunities to pacemen,” Hettiarachchi explained.
Meanwhile, the official draw for the Division I tournament has been released, featuring 70 teams divided into 16 groups from Group A to Group P for the preliminary round. Each team is guaranteed multiple matches during the opening stage.
Defending champions St. Joseph’s College headline Group A, where they will meet Nalanda College, Dharmapala College, St. John’s College, Lumbini College and De La Salle College.
With traditional cricketing powerhouses spread across the groups, it will be interesting to see how the first round pans out in the new-look tournament.
Under 15 Division I Tournament First Round Groups
GROUP A
St. Joseph’s College, Colombo
Nalanda College, Colombo
Dharmapala College, Pannipitiya
St. John’s College, Nugegoda
Lumbini College, Colombo
De La Salle College, Colombo
GROUP B
D.S. Senanayake College, Colombo
S. Thomas’ College, Mt. Lavinia
Presidents’ College, Kotte
Wesley College, Colombo
Carey College, Colombo
Sri Dharmaloka College, Kelaniya
GROUP C
St. Anthony’s College, Wattala
St. Sebastian’s College, Moratuwa
Dharmapala Vidyalaya, Kottawa
St. Peter’s College, Colombo
C.W.W. Kannangara MV, Colombo
Ashoka College, Colombo
GROUP D
St. Benedict’s College, Colombo
Royal College, Colombo
Gurukula College, Kelaniya
Lyceum International School, Wattala
Bandaranayake MMV, Gampaha
St. John’s College, Panadura
GROUP E
De Mazenod College, Kandana
Isipathana College, Colombo
Christ King College, Ja-Ela
Thurstan College, Colombo
Ananda Shastralaya NS, Kotte
St. Joseph Vaz College, Vennappuwa
GROUP F
Mahanama College, Colombo
Piliyandala MMV, Piliyandala
Ananda College, Colombo
Sri Jayawardenapura NS, Kotte
Presidents College, Maharagama
St. Thomas’ College, Kotte
GROUP G
Wadduwa MMV, Wadduwa
Sri Sumangala College, Panadura
Prince of Wales College, Moratuwa
Moratu Vidyalaya, Moratuwa
Revatha College, Balapitiya
Royal College, Panadura
GROUP H
Dharmaraja College, Kandy
St. Mary’s College, Kegalle
Kegalu Vidyalaya, Kegalle
Kingswood College, Kandy
Vidyartha College, Kandy
Ibbagamuwa MMV, Ibbagamuwa
GROUP J
Maris Stella College, Negombo
Maliyadeva College, Kurunegala
Harischandra College, Negombo
Maliyadeva Adarsha MV, Kurunegala
Galahitiyawa MMV, Ganemulla
Sandalankawa MMV, Sandalankawa
GROUP K
St. Anthony’s College, Kandy
St. Sylvester’s College, Kandy
Trinity College, Kandy
Royal College, Polonnaruwa
St. Thomas’ College, Matale
Jaffna Hindu College, Jaffna
GROUP L
Sri Pangnananda MMV, Raddoluwa
St. Anne’s College, Kurunegala
St. Mary’s College, Chilaw
Sri Sumangala NS, Wariyapola
St. Peter’s College, Negombo
St. Xavier’s College, Marawila
GROUP M
Devapathiraja College, Rathgama
St. Aloysius College, Galle
Holy Cross College, Kalutara
Dharmasoka College, Ambalangoda
Kalutara Vidyalaya, Kalutara
Vidyaloka College, Galle
GROUP N
Mahinda College, Galle
Tissa MV, Kalutara
Rahula College, Matara
Debarawewa NS, Debarawewa
St. Thomas’ College, Matara
Meepawala Amarasuriya MV
GROUP P
St. Servatius’ College, Matara
Richmond College, Galle
Sri Devananda College, Ambalangoda
Karandeniya MMV, Karandeniya
P. De S. Kularathna MV, Ambalangoda
President’s College, Embilipitiya.
by Reemus Fernando
With the success the seven MCA men’s cricket tournaments have achieved, the Executive Committee of Mercantile Cricket Association (MCA) have decided to give Women’s Cricket in Sri Lanka a boost by introducing a hard ball Women’s Cricket Tournament for the corporate sector.
With the international recognition women’s cricket has gained at present, it is no secret that there still are many talented lasses aspiring to reach the zenith of the game.
Even with the measures Sri Lanka Cricket (SLC) the game’s governing body through the Schools Cricket Association (SLSCA) have taken to promote girls cricket in schools, a considerable number of talented players, specially in the provinces do not have an opportunity to be recognized.
It is the MCA’s belief that with the introduction of a MCA Women’s Cricket Tournament, the corporate sector will be encouraged to field teams, and in doing so will give a hand to talented lasses and school leavers by providing them with employment as well as the opportunity to realise their aspirations in the Women’s Cricket arena.
At present in addition to the seven major Men’s tournaments the MCA organise the
Mercantile Six-a-Side tournament, the Over-40 Sixes competition, the 20×20 league, and the esteemed MCA Inter Academy Invitational tournament,
As an initial step, the MCA will be conducting a Women’s six and side soft ball cricket tournament for the corporate sector teams on Saturday 23rd May 2026 at the Mercantile Cricket Association grounds.
For further information please contact Chamara on 0759592488 or Prasad 0759809777.
Joint programme between President’s Fund and Janashakthi Foundation to expand healthcare facilities for children
Maldivian President concludes state visit to Sri Lanka
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