Sports
Nilani and Sarangi to get final qualifying opportunity for World Championships
Steeplechase and Long Jump Challenge Competition on Sunday
by Reemus Fernando
Steeplechase national record holder Nilani Ratnayake and leading long jumpers will have a final opportunity to improve their rankings in a bid to qualify for the World Championships when they take part in the Steeplechase and Long Jump Challenge Competition to be held in Diyagama on Sunday.
Ratnayake who commenced the season with a world-leading time of 9:47.47 seconds in February had only the centenary National Championships to fight for her bid to improve rankings for the World Championships. At the National Championships, Ratnayake shattered her own national record clocking 9:40.24 seconds to finish the 3,000 metres steeplechase.
At both events, she had only herself to fight against as her coach Sajith Jayalal kept on reminding the lap pace that she had to maintain from the sidelines. At the start of the season, she was in the 33rd position in the World Athletics’ ‘Road to Oregon’ World Championship rankings. But as of yesterday lack of quality competitions has relegated her to the 37th position.
The Steeplechase and Long Jump Challenge Competition has come at a time when Nilani needs it the most. With the qualification period fast approaching its deadline Nilani is in danger of being further relegated due to lack of competitions. The hastily arranged competition will now offer Nilani a golden opportunity.
Long jumper Sarangi Silva who received competition opportunities in Europe recently will also have another opportunity to improve her rankings on Sunday. Currently she is ranked 32nd in the ‘Road to Oregon’ World Championship rankings. With only the top 32 positions in that list being eligible to compete in Oregon, Sarangi too is in the danger zone.
Although Sri Lanka Athletics has arranged the competition for both men’s and women’s competitors none of the male competitors taking part in the championship are close to qualifying standards.
Currently, Italy-based sprinter Yupun Abeykoon is the highest-ranked Sri Lankan in the ‘Road to Oregon’ World Championship rankings. He is ranked 41st on the list and is set to improve further as he was scheduled to compete in a Diamond League championship in Oslo yesterday.
Meanwhile, 800 metres runner Gayanthika Abeyratne was in the 45th position in the discipline in which only the top 48 become eligible.
Egypt forward Mohamed Salah has signed a new two-year contract with Liverpool.
The 32-year-old’s previous deal was scheduled to run out in the summer and there had been doubts he would stay with the Reds following comments from him during the season and speculation linking him with a move to Saudi Arabia.
However, he is staying and will have the chance to add to his 243 goals and 109 assists for the club in 393 appearances.
“Of course I’m very excited – we have a great team now,” said Salah.
“Before also we had a great team. But I signed because I think we have a chance to win other trophies and enjoy my football.
“I have played eight years here, hopefully it’s going to be 10. I’m enjoying my life here, enjoying my football. I have had the best years of my career here.”
Salah has scored 32 goals in all competitions this season, including 27 in the Premier League as the Reds chase a 20th top-flight title. Liverpool are 11 points clear of second-placed Arsenal with seven games remaining.
Salah, who joined Liverpool from Roma in 2017, has won the Champions League, Premier League, FA Cup, League Cup and Fifa Club World Cup with the Reds.
He was one of three key Liverpool players who will be out of contract this summer, along with right-back Trent Alexander-Arnold and centre-back Virgil van Dijk.
Netherlands defender Van Dijk has said there has been progress on talks over a new deal but Alexander-Arnold has been heavily linked with a move to Real Madrid.
[BBC]
MS Dhoni will lead Chennai Super Kings (CSK) for the remainder of IPL 2025 after Rutraj Gaikwad was ruled out of the rest of the season with an elbow injury.
CSK head coach Stephen Fleming confirmed the development on the eve of the home game against Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) on Friday. It is a significant blow to CSK, who have made a bad start to their campaign by losing four of their first five matches. They are currently ninth in the points table, above only Sunrisers Hyderabad (SRH).
Gaikwad suffered the injury during CSK’s match against Rajasthan Royals (RR) in Guwahati on March 30. He was struck on his unprotected elbow after stepping out to fast bowler Tushar Deshpande and missing the ball in the second over of CSK’s unsuccessful chase, but continued batting and scored 63 in that game. He played two more games after that and made 5 against Delhi Capitals (DC) in Chennai on April 5 and 1 against Punjab Kings (PBKS) in Mullanpur on April 8. After five games, he was CSK’s second-highest run-scorer with 122 runs at a strike rate of 150.61; he was CSK’s highest run-scorer in IPL 2024.
“He [Gaikwad] got hit in Guwahati. He’s been operating with an amount of pain,” Fleming said in Chennai. “We got an X-ray, which was inconclusive, and we had an MRI, which revealed a fracture in his elbow, in the radial neck.
“So we’re disappointed, and feel for him. We appreciate the efforts that he’s gone to in terms of trying to play, but unfortunately, he’d be out of the tournament from now. We have an uncapped player, MS Dhoni, who will take over as captain for the remainder of the IPL.”
Dhoni, 43, had led CSK from 2008 until 2024, when he handed the captaincy to Gaikwad. He had also handed the captaincy to Ravindra Jadeja in 2022, but took back the leadership some way into the season after the team went through a bad run of results. Under Dhoni’s captaincy, CSK have won five IPL titles in 2010, 2011, 2018, 2021 and 2023 and two Champions League trophies as well.
“He [Dhoni] had no hesitation to step up and help guide us out of this if we can,” Fleming said. “So that was never a doubt. We’ll look at replacements. We’ve got some good players in the squad that have been with us a while, so we’ll look from within first. But yeah, there is an opportunity to see how we can enhance the squad probably moving forward into subsequent years.”
After their home game against KKR on today, CSK play two away games against Lucknow Super Giants (LSG) on April 14 and Mumbai Indians (MI) on April 20.
[Cricinfo]
34 new projects under “Clean Sri Lanka” programme this year
Financial assistance of USD 01 Million for the Disaster-Affected People of Myanmar
Dharshana and co win invitational relay
-
Business5 days agoColombo Coffee wins coveted management awards
-
Business7 days agoDaraz Sri Lanka ushers in the New Year with 4.4 Avurudu Wasi Pro Max – Sri Lanka’s biggest online Avurudu sale
-
Features6 days agoStarlink in the Global South
-
Business7 days agoNew SL Sovereign Bonds win foreign investor confidence
-
Features3 days agoSri Lanka’s Foreign Policy amid Geopolitical Transformations: 1990-2024 – Part III
-
Features6 days agoModi’s Sri Lanka Sojourn
-
Midweek Review3 days agoInequality is killing the Middle Class
-
Features5 days agoSri Lanka’s Foreign Policy amid Geopolitical Transformations: 1990-2024 – Part I