Sports
Kaya and Dhanushan crowned 2022 Junior Golf Champs
SRI LANKA JUNIOR GOLF OPEN CHAMPIONSHIP 2022
Kaya Daluwatte led from start to finish to win the Sri Lanka Junior Open Golf Championship 2022, 28 strokes clear of the Gold & Silver combined division Age Group category for Girls from Sherin Mithara Balasooriya who snatched second place from Dhevinka Kanag-Iswaran with a final round 77, having trailed Dhevinka by 4 strokes going in to the final round. Kaya’s performance is outstanding completing the Junior Championship with another 1 under par 71 for a 3 round gross total of seven under par form 54 holes. An extremely impressive performance for the budding star fourteen-year lass, showing all the positive signs of going the distance as a lady Golfer to light-up the Ladies Professional Golf Tour and fly the Lankan flag high.
K. Dhanushan also led from the 1st round and maintained his lead throughout to secure the title as Junior Golf Champion Boys 2022, withstanding the mighty challenge of the defending champion Yannik Kumara and the RCGC Club Champion Nirekh Tejwani. The top 3 in the leader board of the 2022 Junior Boys Championship, Nirekh fired 7 Birdies and ended with an outstanding 3 under par gross 68. Yannik shot a 72, whilst Dhanushan held his nerve and displayed a cool attitude to end on Even Par 71 and win the Junior Boys Champ title for 2022 by a comfortable five strokes. Nirekh with his 3 under 68, managed to grab second place from Yannik Kumara 2 strokes ahead in 2nd place.
Reshan Algama continued his skillful Golf and crafted a brilliant six under par in the final round for a 54 hole aggregate of 206, a total of seven under par gross to be crowned the unchallenged silver division champ, 24 strokes clear of the runner-up Thejas Rathis Kanth on 230 edging out Adithya Weerasinghe from Anuradhapura who secured a creditable 3rd place from Jacob Norton 8 strokes further behind in 4th place.
In the Bronze division Kaitlyn Norton held on to her lead after 2 rounds to win the 10-11+ age group category by 3 strokes from Saqeeb Zuhar followed by Anuja Methsara of Anuradhapura Academy further 2 strokes behind in 3rd place.
Revaan Amarasinghe playing consistent golf also led the Copper division from the start to finish and crowned the copper division champion with a 3 round (9 hole) total of 120, 11 strokes clear of 2nd placed Yuvan Rathis Kanth on 131 and 3rd placed Danik Daluwatte on 142.
Overall, the standard of golf was above average, whilst the top 3 boys and the girls winnesr in the Gold division and Reshan Algama the Silver Champ, were head and shoulders above the rest. However, there was a lot of talent unearthed with the juniors from Anuradhapura Academy making steady progress in a relatively short period of play. The advent of students from Ananda College in to competitive golf and some talented kids in the Copper division age group category of 9 & under performing creditably in their very first tournament augurs well for the future.
The three rounds of enthralling golf were capped off by an encouraging prize giving enriched by PRIMA SUNRISE BREAD the principal sponsor of the Sri Lanka Junior Open Golf Championship 2022. The sponsors were represented by Sajith Guneratne as the guest of honour. The Chief Guest was Suresh Subramaniam President of the National Olympic Committee of Sri Lanka.
President Sri Lanka Golf Michael Magala expressed his appreciation to Prima Sunrise bread for the continuous support of the premier junior Golf Open Championship. Chief Guest Suresh Subramaniam thanked all parents for supporting their children to play golf. Speaking on he said that the Youth Olympic Games in 2026 should be the target to train the youth of today and win medals for Sri Lanka. Niloo Jayathilaka Chairperson of Sri Lanka Junior Golf said that the standard of golf displayed was excellent and the talent of the new juniors is a welcome breath of fresh air and she commended the many sponsors who came forward to promote golf especially in Anuradhapura and among other school students too.
India’s untested lower order played a key role in turning a modest total into a competitive one. Amanjot Kaur added stability, scoring 21 off 18 balls and putting on a 61-run partnership with Harmanpreet for the fifth wicket, helping the innings regain momentum after regular wickets fell.
After her dismissal, Arundhati Reddy – promoted ahead of Sneh Rana – launched a late assault, hitting four fours and a six off 11 balls for an unbeaten 27, guiding India to 175 for 7. The team scored 32 runs in the final two overs.
With Chamari Athapaththu gone in the second over, Perera and Dulhani faced a daunting task. Dulhani, coming in at No. 3 again ahead of Harshitha Samarawickrama, played a confident innings, coming down the track and sweeping as needed, hitting five boundaries inside the powerplay. Perera rotated the strike well, keeping the scoreboard ticking. Aided by the dew, their 79-run second-wicket stand was broken in the 12th over when Amanjot dismissed Dulhani for 50, with her first ball.
Perera carried on, moving from 32 off 23 balls to register her maiden 38-ball fifty in her 89th T20I. Having debuted in 2014 and shuffled around the order, she opened this series for the first time in three years. When the equation came down to 55 off 24 balls, Perera struck a four and a six off Shree Charani before being yorked. Her 42-ball 65 included eight fours and a six.
When Sri Lanka needed 44 off 20 balls, India fought back hard. The visitors lost their key batters at the death, collapsing from 132 for 4 to 140 for 7, eventually falling short and remaining winless in India.
Brief scores:
India Women 175 for 7 in 20 overs (Gunalan Kamalini 12, Harleen Deol 13, Harmanpreet Kaur 68, Amanjot Kaur 21, Arundhati Reddy 27*; Nimasha Meepage 1-25, Kavisha Dilhari 2-11, Rashmika Sewwandi 2-42, Chamari Athapaththu 2-21) beat Sri Lanka Women 160 for 7 in 20 overs (Hasini Perera 65, Imesha Dulani 50, Rashmika Sewwamdi 14*; Deepti Sharma 1-28, Arundhati Reddy 1-16, Sneh Rana 1-31, Vaishnavi Sharma 1-33, Shree Charani 1-31, Amanjot Kaur 1-17 ) by 15 runs
[Cricinfo]
Under 19 Cricket
Manitha Rajapaksha collected a match bag of 11 wickets as Mahinda romped to an innings and 25 runs victory over Lumbini in the Under 19 Division I Tier ‘A’ cricket encounter at Galle.
Forced to follow on after being bowled out for 173 runs, the visitors managed to last only 33 overs as bowlers used the home advantage to good effect.
In a similar performance, Sri Sumangala reduced Isipatana to just 69 runs in the second innings to record an innings and 96 runs win in the Tier ‘B’ match at Panadura. While Mevindu Kumarasiri excelled once again to claim a match bag of 11 wickets, overnight batsmen Sandeep Wijerathna and Neksha Iddamalgoda went on to score centuries for Sri Sumangala to boost the score to 301 for eight wickets declared.
Meanwhile at DSS ground the home team scored a first innings win over Nalanda.
Match Results
Mahinda in innings win at Galle
Scores
Mahinda 284 all out in 72.2 overs
(Dulsith Darshana 63, Randula Mabarana 28, Manitha Rajapaksha 23, Kaveesha Githmal 43, Kavindu Nimsara 66; Yashod Kavindu 5/100, Dinal Sewmina 2/32)
Lumbini 76 for 4 overnight 173 all out in 53.4 overs
(Kisandu Dulneth 33, Yashod Kavindu 26, Jayanitha Mendis 41, Pasindu Mahisha 38; Manitha Rajapaksha 6/64, Sadev Nethmina 2/27) and 86 all out in 32.4 overs (Nikil Abilash 33; Manitha Rajapaksha 5/25, Gesandu Bisas 2/12, Arosha Udayanga 2/15)
Sri Sumangala in innings win at Panadura
Scores
Isipatana 136 all out in 47.2 overs (Yuveen Keshan 21, Dasith Senal 31; Mevindu Kumarasiri 6/54) and 69 all out in 25.2 overs (Janith Selaka 25; Mevindu Kumarasiri 5/32, Methum Fernando 4/23)
Sri Sumangala 158 for 2 overnight 301 for 8 decl. in 79.4 overs (Sandeep Wijerathna 100, Neksha Iddamalgoda 110, Mevindu Kumarasiri 34; Dasith Senal 2/86, Dimuthu Tharuka 2/34)
First innings win for DSS at DSS ground
Scores
DSS 365 all out in 79 overs (Savain Kalansooriya 54, Bihan Gamage 102, Janindu Ranasinghe 50, Shevan Welgama 73; Osanda Pamuditha 2/69, Dunitha Anusara 4/66, Sahas Godage 3/76) and 144 for 3 in 35.2 overs (Miyuru Bandara 41, Savain Kalansooriya 57, Shanaal Binuksha 34)
Nalanda 28 for 1 overnight 197 all out in 66.1 overs (Nemindu Akmeemana 40, Ranmith Dinuwara 42; Shanaal Binuksha 6/61, Randisha Bandaranayake 2/40)
by Reemus Fernando
India’s opening batter Shafali Verma and swing bowler Renuka Singh have moved up to sixth spots in the ICC’s T20I batting and bowling rankings respectively.
Shafali is the leading scorer in the ongoing bilateral series against Sri Lanka by a distance, her 236 runs nearly twice as many as second-highest scorer Smriti Mandhana’s 120. Renuka is also the leading wicket-taker, her four wickets level with team-mates Deepti Sharma, Vaishnavi Sharma and Shree Charani.
Shafali went up four places with back-to-back scores of 69*, 79* and 79 in the second, third and fourth T20Is. Renuka, meanwhile, climbed eight places to reach the joint-sixth position along with South Africa’s Nonkululeko Mlaba, particularly through her 4 for 21 in the third game of the series. Deepti leads the bowlers’ rankings after taking that position last week. Both Shafali and Renuka have also bagged one Player-of-the-Match award each in the series that India lead 4-0, with the last match scheduled for Tuesday in Thiruvananthapuram.
If India win today (30), this will be their third 5-0 series win in T20Is. They won by that scoreline in the West Indies in 2019 and in Bangladesh last year. Sri Lanka have, however, never before lost a T20I series 5-0.
(Cricinfo)
Showers or thundershowers will occur at times in the Northern, Eastern, Central, North-central, North-western and Uva provinces
Israel to bar 37 aid groups from Gaza
Protests spread across Iran for third day after currency hits record low
Sri Lanka Customs exceeds revenue targets to enters 2026 with a surplus of Rs. 300 billion – Director General
Harmanpreet Kaur leads the way as India complete 5-0 sweep over Sri Lanka
Educators slam govt. for ‘unprepared’ education reforms
‘Dates have the highest sugar content to fight Coronavirus’
Sunday Island 27 December – Headlines
#SundayIsland 17th December – Headlines
Sunday Island – 28th March
Sunday Island Headlines – 21 March
Sunday Island – 21st February – Headlines
-
News6 days agoBritish MP calls on Foreign Secretary to expand sanction package against ‘Sri Lankan war criminals’
-
News5 days agoStreet vendors banned from Kandy City
-
Sports6 days agoChief selector’s remarks disappointing says Mickey Arthur
-
Opinion6 days agoDisasters do not destroy nations; the refusal to change does
-
News5 days agoLankan aircrew fly daring UN Medevac in hostile conditions in Africa
-
Sports2 days agoGurusinha’s Boxing Day hundred celebrated in Melbourne
-
Sports3 days agoTime to close the Dickwella chapter
-
Sports6 days agoRoyal record crushing innings win against Nalanda