Sports
Of emerging long jumper Nethmika’s notable achievement
by Reemus Fernando
Sixteen-year-old Nethmika Madushani Herath who won the long jump event at last week’s Junior Selection Trial was just an average performer four years ago. The youngster first attended Yakunnawa Kanishta Vidyalaya, a school in remote Medagama in Bibile before her notable feats at local Zonal competitions influenced her parents to admit her to Nannapurawa MV where she came under the supervision of Krishantha Kumara.
“She was doing high jump first and we got her to train long jump. Now she is doing long jump, triple jump and the hurdles,” Kumara told The Island after Nethmika produced an impressive 5.73 metres to turn tables on Dananjana Sithmini of Lyceum International, Wattala on her final jump.
Both Kumara and his wife Inoka Sanjeewani, a former Uva Province Champion, are Physical Training Instructors at Nannapurawa MV. They were among a handful of PTIs to have continued training school athletes during the pandemic. The results of their perseverance during these trouble times started to produce rich dividend when she was placed third at the Selection Trial for Under-20 World Championships held earlier this year.
“Due transportation difficulties we came in a hired vehicle for that meet. She did not have enough rest before she started competing and could not display her true potential at that meet. It was the first time in two years that she was competing on a synthetic track,” said Kumara.
Competing in the Under-20 age category in that event, she cleared 5.56 metres to be placed third. The winner Ishara Samanmalee cleared 5.62 metres.
What does her feat of 5.73 metres indicate?
Nethmika is among hundreds of young athletes to have dearly missed competition opportunities during the last two years due to the Covid 19 pandemic. When she last competed at the All Island Schools Games Athletics Championships in 2019 she was placed second in the Under-16 long jump with a leap of 5.51 metres. She was expecting to make amends and win that age category event at the 2020 edition. But with both the 2020 and 2021 seasons lost due to the pandemic, the athletes in the caliber of Nethmika have found the Trial meets organized by Sri Lanka Athletics to be the only opportunities to test their skills.
Nethmika’s winning feat of 5.73 metres on Saturday is one of the best performances in her age category in Sri Lanka. At the last All Island Schools Games Competition (2019) the girls Under-18 long jump gold was won with a feat of 5.62 metres (Sadeepa Handerson). At the last Asian Youth Championships in 2019, the girls’ long jump bronze medal went to a performance of 5.73 metres, the exact performance Nethmika produced.
What was impressive about Nethmika’s performance was the way she consistently cleared the 5.50 metres mark. Her six jumps were measured at 5.58m, 5.55m, 5.48m, 5.38m, 5.58m and 5.73m. In the triple jump she cleared 11.77 metres, the best performance by a female athlete in the Under-18 age category during the last three years.
She is not the first and only athlete to have produced such feats. In fact in the same competition Lyceum athlete Dananjana Sithmini cleared 5.60 metres. There had been numerous athletes who had excelled like Nethmika but many such female athletes had given up ahead of O/L examination.
Nethmika, who is the third in a family of four girls, is a keen student and would want to continue higher education like her two older sisters who are university students. So far her farmer parents have given the necessary support for her to prosper in both studies and sports. But not all scholar athletes of Nannapurawa MV had been lucky. According to Kumara a number of scholar students of Nannapurawa MV who had excelled in other sports had given up at Nethmika’s age to concentrate on studies.
Nethmika is likely to be selected in the team for 2022 Asian Youth Championships. Hopefully that will be an impetus for Nethmika to persevere in both sports and studies.
Name: H.M. Nethmika Madushani Herath
Date of Birth:
4th March 2005
Height:
167cm
Weight:
53kg
Coaches:
M.G. Krishantha Kumara and Inoka Sanjeewani
Disciplines:
Long Jump, Triple Jump, Hurdles
Personal Bests:
Long Jump:
5.73m
Triple jump:
11.77m
The inaugural Women’s Champions Trophy, scheduled for February 2027, will be moved out of Sri Lanka with the SLC set to be stripped of hosting rights. Cricinfo has confirmed that the six-team event will be played at a different venue in the same window, and it is likely to be held in India. The new hosts will be confirmed at the next ICC board meeting in October.
Sri Lanka have lost the right to stage the tournament, which was due to be their second ICC event in a year after they also co-hosted the 2026 men’s T20 World Cup, because of government interference in their board. The SLC has an interim administration, called the Transformation Committee, which was put in place by the Sri Lankan government and will oversee major board changes including to the constitution.
The ICC does not recognise politically appointed administrations and SLC representatives have not been at ICC board meetings since the Transformation Committee was put in place.
The change in venue could significantly impact the Sri Lanka side, who only qualified for the event by virtue of it being held in their country. The competition is limited to the top six teams on the ICC rankings and, as of the rankings update on Saturday, Sri Lanka are currently seventh. Australia, England, India, New Zealand and South Africa make up the top five. West Indies are sixth and would have originally missed out but if Sri Lanka do not qualify, then the Caribbean could sneak in.
This will be the second time in three years that Sri Lanka have lost out on an ICC event. In 2023, the 2024 men’s Under-19 World Cup was taken away from them for the same reasons and moved to South Africa.
In any case, while the Transformation Committee is in charge, SLC’s electoral processes stand suspended. The Transformation Committee’s official task is to reform that very electoral system, and the Sri Lanka Cricket constitution in general. According to the country’s laws, this can only be done through parliament.
The Transformation Committee has said it has produced a fresh constitution which is expected to be taken up in parliament over the next few weeks. Members of that Transformation Committee told Cricinfo that it expects for SLC elections to take place before the end of 2026, so long as the parliamentary process runs smoothly.
(Cricinfo)
Sri Lanka began their Women’s Asia Cup campaign in emphatic fashion, cruising to a nine-wicket win over the UAE after bowling them out for just 79. Mithali Ayodhya and Chethana Vimukthi led the way with three wickets apiece, while Sugandika Kumari took two, before Chamari Athapaththu’s unbeaten 48 off 25 balls and Imesha Dulani’s 25 off 18 powered the defending champions to the target in just 7.5 overs. The victory, completed with 73 balls to spare, was Sri Lanka’s biggest in T20Is in terms of balls remaining.
Sri Lanka made an ideal start after opting to bowl, with Mithali Ayodhya striking in the fourth ball of the innings to bowl Theertha Satish for a duck. Chethana Vimukthi then joined in, bowling a disciplined spell and removing Lavanya Keny in the fourth over to leave UAE at 8 for 2. Esha Oza and Heena Hotchandani tried to rebuild, but scoring remained difficult, with Sri Lanka’s bowlers giving little away. Oza’s first boundary, which was also the first of the innings, did not come until the 4.1 over, and UAE reached only 16 for 2 at the end of the Powerplay.
The pressure continued after the field spread, and Oza was eventually dismissed for 18 off 24 by Sugandika Kumari. By the halfway stage, they had crawled to 31 for 3, having played out 37 dot balls. Hotchandani fell for 10 off 18 to Chamari Athapaththu soon after, and although Rinitha Rajith provided some impetus with 15 off 16, wickets kept falling around her. Samaira Dharnidharka made 17 off 25 before Kavisha Dilhari had her caught and bowled in the 15th over, and Rajith followed in the 19th over. Ayodhya then returned to remove the final two batters, bowling UAE out for under 80.
In contrast to the first innings, Sri Lanka made a flying start to the chase, with Dulani and Athapaththu dealing in regular boundaries. Dulani was particularly fluent, striking five fours in her 18-ball 25, while Athapaththu became the first to reach 500 runs in Women’s Asia Cups, with a six off Esha Oza in the fourth over.
The pair raised a half-century stand inside the Powerplay before Dulani was run out for 25 when a drive from Athapaththu ricocheted off the bowler and hit the stumps at the non-striker’s end. Athapaththu, though, continued the assault with Sanjana Kavindi for company. Having struck two boundaries off Athige Silva, she hit a six off Oza before finishing off the chase with a couple as Sri Lanka began their Asia Cup campaign with a facile win.
Brief scores:
UAE 79 in 19.5 overs (Esha Oza 18; Mithali Ayodhya 3-14, Chethana Vimukthi 3-16, Sugandika Kumari 2-18)
Sri Lanka 80/1 in 7.5 overs
(Chamari Athapaththu 48, Imesha Dulani 25) (Cricbuzz)
The Sri Lanka Men’s National Basketball Team delivered a composed performance to defeat Kyrgyzstan 72-65 yesterday at the Baluan Sholak Sport Palace in Almaty, Kazakhstan, in the FIBA Asia Cup Pre-Qualifiers Group B.
In a tightly contested first half, Sri Lanka trailed narrowly at the break 31-33. Team Sri Lanka regrouped in the second half, outscoring Kyrgyzstan 20-16 in the third quarter and 21-16 in the fourth quarter to secure a crucial two points in the group standings.
Simron Yogananthan led the way with a game high 27 points and was instrumental in the fourth quarter comeback.
Praneeth Udumalagala also supported well with 22 points and a last moment match winning three pointer.
With this win, Sri Lanka took a massive step towards qualification for the next round of the FIBA Asia Cup Pre-Qualifiers.
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