Sports

Kandy SC understands the supreme reality of rugby!

Published

2 years ago

2024/01/4

This season too Kandy SC has created that vibe that their prestige in rugby cannot be dented that easily (Picture courtesy Sri Lanka Rugby’s Media Unit)

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!

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Related Topics:Kandy SC Rugby Sri Lankan Rugby

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SLAF men’s Judo team crowned overall champs at 62nd National Judo Championship

Published

4 hours ago

2026/02/5

Priyan

The Sri Lanka Air Force Men's and Women's Judo Teams with officials

The Sri Lanka Air Force [SLAF] Men’s Judo Team emerged overall champions in the Men’s Category at the 62nd National Judo Championship organized by the Sri Lanka Judo Association, reclaiming the prestigious title for the first time since 2014.

The championship was held from 30 January to 01 February 2026 at the Indoor Stadium of the Ministry of Sports, Sri Lanka, with the awards ceremony conducted at the same venue on 01 February 2026.

The awards ceremony was graced by Air Commodore Manoj Galappaththi, Chairman of SLAF Judo, Group Captain MADCI Gunasinghe, Secretary of SLAF Judo, and Wing Commander HDTNS Hettiarachchi, Assistant Secretary of SLAF Judo, along with several senior officers representing the tri-services.

The SLAF Men’s Judo Team secured the overall championship in the Men’s Category with a medal tally of six gold medals, three silver medals and six bronze medals.

Meanwhile, the SLAF Women’s Judo Team delivered a commendable performance to secure the Overall Runners-up position in the Women’s Category, winning four gold medals, four silver medals and six bronze medals.

Further highlighting the SLAF’s success, Sergeant Chamara Dharmawardana was adjudged the ‘Best Male Judo Player’ for the ninth consecutive year, continuing a notable record in Sri Lankan Judo. In recognition of emerging talent, Mr. Wipulaweera was awarded the ‘Emerging Player of the Year’ in the Men’s Category, while Leading Aircraftwoman Yapa YMMM received the ‘Emerging Player of the Year’ in the Women’s Category award. In addition, Leading Aircraftman Hansamal KST was recognized as the ‘Best Ippon Player’ of the championship.

Summary of results

Gold Medalists
Mr. Wipulaweera (66 Kg)
Sergeant Darmawardana RCN (73 Kg)
Leading Aircraftman Hansamal KST (81 kg)
Leading Aircraftman Osman MI (Over 70 kg)
Sergeant Darmawardana RCN (Open Event-Men )
Leading Aircraftwoman Yapa YMMM (57 Kg)
Leading Aircraftman Samaraweera HVPCSD (63 Kg)
Leading Aircraftman Wickramasinghe RMSP (Over 78 Kg)

Team Event (Mix)
Sergeant Darmawardana RCN
Leading Aircraftman Osman MI
Leading Aircraftman Hansamal KST
Leading Aircraftwoman Upamali IR
Leading Aircraftwoman Bandara BGNK
Sergeant Lakshani MGU

Silver Medalists
Leading Aircraftman Arachchi WAASW (73 Kg)
Corporal Mahesh TP (90 Kg)
Leading Aircraftman Hansamal KST (Open Event -Men)
Leading Aircraftman Premalal UKGAN (44 Kg)
Leading Aircraftwoman Bandara BGNK (52 Kg)
Leading Aircraftwoman Upamali IR (70 Kg)
Sergeant Lakshani MGU (Over 78 Kg)

Bronze Medalists
Leading Aircraftman Madushanka RMSL (50 kg)
Leading Aircraftman Weerasinghe RSN (55 Kg)
Mr. Wipulaweera (60 kg)
Corporal Kumara SD (81 kg)
Corporal Abesinghe KGCK (Under 100kg)
Leading Aircraftwoman Priyanthi S (48 Kg)
Aircraftwoman Rupasinghe DGITS (48 Kg)
Leading Aircraftwoman Senarathna JASS (52 Kg)
Leading Aircraftwoman Chathurangani BAI (63 kg)
Leading Aircraftwoman Deumini TML (78 Kg)
Leading Aircraftwoman Upamali IR (Open Event- Women)
Corporal Kumara SD (Open Event – Men)

Sports

Sri Lanka’s mindset muddle clouds World Cup hopes

Published

12 hours ago

2026/02/5

Sahan Weerasooriya

Sri Lanka's batting unit failed to chase down 129 runs in the third T20I at Pallekele and suffered a 3-0 whitewash.

A home series against England was meant to be the ideal dress rehearsal, a chance for Sri Lanka to oil the wheels and gather momentum ahead of the World Cup starting later this week. Instead, the campaign has gone awfully wrong. Plenty of promise, precious little substance. Bar the lone victory in the opening ODI, the hosts have spent the white-ball leg chasing shadows, the ODI series defeat a bitter pill and the T20I whitewash a full-blown reality check. Sri Lanka’s frailties against spin were already an open secret; this series merely put them under a brighter spotlight, throwing up more questions than answers.

Handing three wickets in an over to a part-timer like Jacob Bethell is the sort of generosity normally reserved for charity matches. Failing to hunt down 129 on surfaces the batting unit has been reared on, rank turners that should feel like home cooking, tells its own grim tale.

The malaise is rooted in mindset. Too many batters are reaching for the glory shot, swinging from the heels when the situation demands nudges into gaps, hard yards between the wickets and a willingness to play the waiting game.

Cricket, after all, is not always about clearing the ropes; sometimes it is about milking the bowling and letting the scoreboard tick over. Unless these rough edges are sanded down, Sri Lanka risk walking into the World Cup with the same old cracks papered over.

Recent T20 World Cups have been a sobering reminder of how far the side has drifted. A meek first-round exit last time and the indignity of qualifying rounds before that should have set alarm bells ringing. Yet, carrying largely the same cast into a fourth successive global event, the team continues to tread water, repeating errors like a stuck record rather than turning the page.

One positive has been the improved handling of injuries that once felled key players at the worst moments, but elsewhere the repair job remains half-finished.

The biggest question mark hovers over captain Dasun Shanaka. A skipper struggling to read the wrong’un, let alone steer a chase, can quickly become dead weight. His elevation came out of the blue and the warning signs were there from day one, but they were waved away. Cricket, like life, has a habit of punishing stubbornness, and Sri Lanka are discovering that harsh truth the hard way.

Rex Clementine at Pallekele

Sports

Kishan leads India’s batting show in warm-up win over South Africa

Published

12 hours ago

2026/02/5

Priyan

Ishan Kishan gets creative and launches a six [Cricinfo]

India’s explosive batting juggernaut rolled on to the doorstep of the men’s T20 World Cup 2026, helping them beat South Africa by 30 runs in the warm-up fixture at the DY Patil Stadium in Navi Mumbai. The margin of defeat only reduced because of two overs of 22 and 20 against Shivam Dube at the death.

Opting to bat at a ground which saw teams preferring to chase in the first leg of WPL 2026, Ishan Kishan got India off to an explosive start. He rollicked to a 20-ball 53, which included a sequence of 6, 6, 4, 6 in the fifth over from Anrich Nortje, before retiring out as India finished the powerplay on 83 for 1. Tilak Varma, who played the warm-up for India A a couple of nights ago at the same venue and linked up with the Indian squad just before this warm-up game, looked fluent from get-go in his 19-ball 45.

Suryakumar Yadav as well as Hardik Pandya later freed their arm without inhibition as India posted a mammoth 240 for 5. Nortje, who has played just one international since the last T20 World Cup, conceded 57 in his three overs on the night, after his comeback game against West Indies last week also gave him figures of 3-0-59-0. Kagiso Rabada, too, was expensive, going for 44 off his three overs.

For South Africa, Aiden Markram and Ryan Rickelton added 65 in just five overs in the powerplay. Markram hit four sixes in his 19-ball 38 while Rickelton, batting at No. 3, made 44 off 21. But they kept losing wickets regularly and had lost half their side by the 11th over.

Jason Smith, Tristan Stubbs and Marco Jansen kept peppering the boundaries to punish Abhishek Sharma and then Dube but the challenge was too steep by then.

Brief scores:
India 240 for 5 in 20 overs (Ishan Kishan 53, Tilak Varma 45, Axar Patel 35*; Marco Jansen 1-18) beat South Africa 210 for 7 in 20 overs (Tristan Stubbs 45*, Ryan Rickelton 44, Aiden Markram 38, Jason Smith 35; Abhishek Sharma 2-32) by 30 runs

[Cricinfo]