Sports
Kandy SC understands the supreme reality of rugby!
By a Special Sports Correspondent
Kandy Sports Club is riding on a high wave this season too and their presence in the domestic rugby scene has given the sport at home the much needed lift to attract attention of fans and sponsors.
Imagine being the only division 1 rugby playing club in the Central Province and having to compete against seven other teams which are scattered all over in another province which is 72 km away from Kandy! Till very recently Kandy didn’t see that easily their opposition at rugby and perhaps what happens in terms of preparations in Colombo. But now, thanks to a leading sports website, boasting of massive live coverage given to rugby matches, Kandy can follow move for move when the other top teams in the tournament clash in matches organized in venues in the Western Province. The same is true for other teams; you don’t a need video spy recording matches which feature other teams. This sports website is doing it for all the teams and you only need internet connection to keep yourself in the loop.
But still, Kandy SC is alone; and the players surely must be getting that feeling of being isolated in the central hills of this country. The players have ‘demi god’ status and probably their private lives also must be coming under the scrutiny of the public when they step into town. This is not an exaggeration when you consider that rugby in Kandy SC has the potential to close down the town and bring in the crowds to Nittawela in their numbers on match day.
Kandy as a town has got used to a few luxuries where sports are concerned. The list will be long if the number of sports practiced in Kandy is jotted down. But what is the supreme reality of sport one must understand when the individual continues practicing the discipline he or she chooses after leaving school? The answer is ‘can the individual engage in the sport for a living, pay his bills and survive 30 days of the month with what he makes as earnings’. I know this might be confusing because there is a question and the answer is also coming in the form of a question. If the answer after analyzing this question is ‘yes’ then it’s worthwhile doing sport at a competitive level or a semi professional level because then the sport seems to be looking after you. But here in the Central Hills or Nittawela to be precise the club takes good care of its players.
Kandy SC can be a too larger institute to enter into at first. Remember that Kandy SC is not restricting membership to players born in the Central Hills. So many players have left Colombo and moved to Kandy and furthered their careers. A few players who broke off from their Colombo roots and ended up in Kandy are the late Sajith Mallikarachchi, Sanjeewa Jayasinghe, Dhanushka Ranjan and Srinath Sooriyaarachchi. There may be more like them, but these four players did not only Kandy SC proud, but made their contributions to the country’s national team in both sevens and fifteen-a-side rugby. There were players who originally schooled in academic institutes in Central Province and moved to Western Province in search of greener pastures; choosing to go with Colombo based clubs. But the really good players virtually came back to the place of their birth and found Kandy SC to be like ‘Hotel California’; we remind readers of the line in that song which goes-you can check out any time you like, but you can never leave’. Kandy SC shares similar sentiments!
In Colombo, players come and go and they are soon forgotten. But at the Nittawela club players in the likes of Denzil Kobbekaduwa, Lasantha Wijesuriya, Priyantha Ekanayake, Indrajith Bandaranayake, Sean Wijesinghe, Nalaka Weerakkody and Fazil Marija were honoured by the club by naming stands inside Kandy Sport Club in their names. This goes on to prove how big the rugby culture is in Kandy and underscores the fact that the club throws its weight behind players in making them brands or icons in the sport.
Marija is in charge of coaching the side he represented as a player for many seasons. This is the club at which he grew from a skinny lad playing the game to a beefy muscular thinking player. When he retired in 2018 he was given a majestic send off by rugby fans of Central Province at the Nittawela ground itself. That year Kandy SC managed to defuse a charge by Havelock Sports Club and eventually finished the season as triple champions. Havies finished as runners-up that season.
Marija has some seasoned campaigners in the likes of Jason Dissanayake, Tharinda Ratwatte, Nigel Ratwatte, Lavanga Perera, Srinath Sooriyabandara and Danushka Ranjan to carry their hopes this season. The club has added more strength to the coaching team by bringing in South African Johan Taylor; not a stranger to Kandy SC and also to the national rugby players. There is former Sri Lanka player Viraj Prashantha who has a slot in the coaching staff too.
Up in the cool climes of Kandy these players have the least distractions and can concentrate on their rugby. However the stakes are high when playing for Kandy SC because those in the starting line-up can see more hungry ‘foxes’ climbing up the hill to wear the white, red and blue jersey. This team just cannot lose at rugby; akin to the Indian national team making a cricket crazy nation weep every time they lose and bow out of a competition. Kandy SC can take a bow for establishing a loyal spectator base. We can see some of the most colourful faces at rugby matches cheering Kandy SC on; face paint and the waving of the ‘lion’ flag are now built in features of spectator behavior.
This season too Kandy SC has created that vibe that their prestige in rugby cannot be dented that easily. Four week into the inter-club league rugby tournament the side from Nittawela is heading the points table with four wins out of four outings. The ‘Lion’ in their flag reminds the Kandy SC players that the king of the jungle must stay alert; even if it calls for practicing eternal vigilance both on and off the field!
Tiger Woods has been charged with driving under the influence after rolling his car in a crash in Florida, police have confirmed.
The Martin County Sheriff’s Office said the 15-time major champion was also charged with property damage and refusal to submit to a lawful test.
Woods, 50, rolled his Land Rover after clipping a pressure cleaner truck while trying to overtake it at “a high rate of speed”, according to Sheriff John Budensiek.
The golfer, who had to crawl out of the passenger door of his vehicle, passed a breathalyser test after the crash but refused a urine test.
No-one sustained any injuries in the incident which took place on Beach Road in Jupiter Island just before 14:00 local time on Friday (about 19:00 GMT).
Sheriff Budensiek told a news conference: “The DUI investigators came to the scene and Mr Woods did exemplify signs of impairment.
“They did several tests on him. He did explain the injuries and surgeries that he’s had and we did take that into account, but they did some in-depth roadside tests.
“When it was determined, he was placed under arrest and taken to the Martin County jail.
“At the Martin County jail, and even on scene, we were really not suspicious of alcohol being involved in this case and that proved to be true.
“Mr Woods did a breathalyser test with triple zeros, but when it came time for us to ask for a urinary analysis test, he refused.”
Budensiek also said Woods had been “co-operative but was trying not to incriminate himself”.
“He has a right to refuse that test,” added the sheriff. “There is a statute which he will be charged with for refusing to take that test, but we will never get definitive results as to what he was impaired on at the time of the crash.”
US president Donald Trump was asked about the crash on Friday, saying: “I feel so badly. [Woods has] got some difficulty. There was an accident. That’s all I know.
“He’s a very close friend of mine, he’s an amazing person, an amazing man.”
Sheriff Budensiek said Woods would remain in jail for eight hours then be released on bond. The charges are misdemeanours, not felonies.
The BBC has contacted the golfer’s representatives for comment.
This is not the first time Woods has been involved in a car accident – he has played a limited schedule since the serious crash in 2021 that left him with extensive injuries and fortunate to be alive.
In 2017 police officers also found him slumped at the wheel of his parked Mercedes-Benz not far from his Florida home.
A toxicology report found Woods had several legal medications in his system and marijuana’s active ingredient, and he was sentenced to a year’s probation after pleading guilty to reckless driving.
In 2009 Woods hit a fire hydrant, a tree, and several hedges in a bizarre collision outside his home.
The incident sparked accusations of extramarital affairs which led to the end of his seven-year marriage and the loss of lucrative sponsorship deals.
[BBC]
Sri Sumangala College, Panadura secured a convincing five-wicket victory over Sri Dharmaloka College, Kelaniya in their Under-19 Division I Tier ‘B’ cricket quarter-final at Kuruvita on Friday, sealing a place in the semi-finals with two sessions to spare.
All-rounder Mevindu Kumarasiri played a decisive role in the win, following up his outstanding bowling performance with a vital knock of 44 runs to guide his team to the target of 157.
Sri Sumangala’s run chase was anchored by Kumarasiri and Neksha Iddamalgoda, who shared a crucial 85-run partnership for the fourth wicket after the early setbacks. The stand effectively put the Panadura side on course for victory.
Kumarasiri’s brisk 44 came at just under a run-a-ball and included five boundaries, while Iddamalgoda top-scored with 49, striking seven fours in a fluent innings. Although both batsmen were dismissed before the target was reached, their partnership had already taken the sting out of the chase.
Bihanga Silva and Sadika Damyuru then completed the formalities, steering Sri Sumangala past the target to wrap up an impressive victory.
The win was particularly remarkable considering Sri Sumangala had been bowled out for 144 in their first innings. However, Kumarasiri turned the game dramatically in their favour with a superb six-wicket haul that dismantled Sri Dharmaloka for just 89 in the second innings.
His match-winning all-round performance proved to be the turning point as Sri
Sumangala capitalised on the opportunity to book their place in the tournament’s semi-finals.
Scores
Sri Dharmaloka 211 all out in 76.3 overs
(Kaveen Deneth 106, Senuka Pehesara 29, Koshitha Adithya 19; Mevindu Kumarasiri 5/82) and 89 all out in 35 overs (Tharusha Mihiranga 24; Mevindu Kumarasiri 6/41, Methum Fernando 4/42)
Sri Sumangala 144 all out in 48.4 overs
(Neksha Iddamalgoda 47, Bihanga Silva 36, Mavindu Kumarasiri 21; Tishan Nipun 4/43, Sathindu Prabhoda 3/44, Koshitha Adithya 2/27) and 160 for 5 in 34.3 overs (Vidura Basuru 33, Sandeep Wijerathna 19, Neksha Iddamalgoda 49, Mevindu Kumarasiri 44; Koshitha Adithya 4/64) (RF)
Shaheen Shah Afridi and Marnus Labuschagne, captains of Lahore Qalandars and Hyderabad Kingsmen, walked out with two team sheets each for the toss ahead of the opening matchof PSL 2026 and selected their final XIs based on which way the coin fell.
This was in accordance with a new regulation in the PSL playing conditions, which permits the captains to submit two team sheets to the match referee before the toss and finalise one of the submitted line-ups after the toss.
The clause 1.2.1 in the “Nomination and Replacement of Players” section reads: “Before the toss, each captain may submit two (2) different XI lineups in writing to the PSL Match Referee. Each lineup must include 11 players and a maximum of 4 substitute fielders (subject to Clause 1.2.5). After the toss, each captain must finalise one of the two submitted lineups by signing the selected team sheet. Once the final lineup has been nominated, no player listed in the selected playing eleven may be changed before the start of the match without the consent of the opposing captain.”
Tosses can play a significant role in this part of the world in night matches as a result of dew. The ball often gets wet and difficult to grip for the spinners, making them ineffective in the second innings. This change in the playing conditions is expected to provide a level playing field – a team batting first can add a fast bowler instead of a spinner while a team batting second can look to add depth to their batting.
There were no signs of dew in the first match of the season however because of the wind throughout the day and cloud cover.
[Cricinfo]
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