Sports

Maheesh Theekshana: from rags to riches

Published

4 years ago

2021/09/9

by Rex Clementine

This year, we have seen the remarkable rise of two young players, who overcame poverty and several hardships to become household names of the game of cricket. Pathum Nissanka became the first Sri Lankan to make a hundred on debut overseas while Praveen Jayawickrama was quite a sensation picking up 11 wickets on his debut.

Maheesh Theekshana is the latest sensation having picked up a wicket on his first ball in international cricket and ending with four wickets as Sri Lanka beat South Africa on Tuesday to complete a rare series win. It is the first time in seven years that Sri Lanka have beaten a team ranked top five. Like Praveen and Pathum, Maheesh too has overcome many obstacles in life and he is ever thankful for the mentoring, support and the guidance he has received during his formative years.

Maheesh grew up with his grandmother and hailed from the little heard Siddhartha Vidyalaya, Sedawatta. Two old boys of St. Benedict’s College, who are actively involved with school’s cricket; Shanthilal Silva and Vivian Saverymuthapulle, approached Maheesha’s guardian to make the shift to Kotahena where he could play cricket at a very competitive level. St. Benedict’s with a lot of goodwill and support from the old boys have the capability to look after promising sportsmen and students.

Once the recommendation was made by St. Benedict’s Cricket Wing to Sports Coordinator Rev. Br. Pravin Vaz (FSC), he approached the school’s Director Rev. Br. Janaka Fonseka (FSC) to recruit the player to St. Benedict’s, one of the leading cricket-playing schools in the country. Being top sports enthusiasts, the brothers needed little convincing to bring Maheesha to Kotahena.

The Cricket Wing of St. Benedict’s looked after his expenses for the first two years and then the College offered him a full scholarship. It was a smart move. St. Benedict’s had not produced a Sri Lanka cricketer since 1979 and the drought ended with Maheesh making his debut having joined Bens at under-15 level.

Maheesh won the All-Island Best All-Rounder award in his final year at school. Then he joined Sri Lanka Army to play cricket. There he was lucky to come under the wings of two former Sri Lanka captains; Dinesh Chandimal and Thisara Perera, two guys who are ideal for mentoring young players.

When the first Lanka Premier League (LPL) came around, Maheesh wasn’t among the players in the draft. He was in a supplementary category which made him ineligible to play. But then Thisara told Jaffna Stallions about this guy with a unique ability. His specialty was being able to bowl like Ajantha Mendis. Jaffna owners listened to their captain and requested SLC to shift him from Supplementary to Emerging category. Then, they bid him for US$ 10,000.

That Jaffna deal changed Maheesh’s career. We have often seen players with too much of talent ruining things for themselves once they get a bit of fame and money.

But as for Maheesh, he has a good head above his shoulder. The first thing he did with the money he received from Jaffna is to inform St. Benedict’s current sports in-charge Rev. Br. Dilshan Vimukthi (FSC) that he will be giving a portion of his contract fee from the LPL to St. Benedict’s to help up and coming young cricketers. Players who do not forget their past should prosper.

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Sports

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

Published

2 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

9 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

10 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]