Sports
President’s Gold Cup volleyball from August 16
Marking two decades of steadfast support for Sri Lanka’s national sport, Dialog Axiata PLC will commence the 2025 edition of the Dialog President’s Gold Cup Volleyball Tournament on 16 August, beginning with the Western Province competitions.
Driven by a strong vision to empower youth through sport, the tournament provides a platform for under-25 volleyball players from across the island to showcase their talent – from village level to the national stage.
This year’s competition is expected to draw participation from approximately 4,000 teams.
The 2025 edition will be conducted in two phases: Provincial and National. Matches will begin at district level, with champions and runners-up progressing to the provincial finals. The top teams from each province will then qualify for the national round.
Dialog Axiata has been the sponsor of the President’s Gold Cup for 18 consecutive years, first stepping in to support the vision of the late President Ranasinghe Premadasa, who initiated the championship in 1991 to elevate village-level talent to the national arena.
Speaking at the press conference held in Colombo, Lasantha Thewarapperuma, Group Chief Marketing Officer of Dialog Axiata PLC, stated: “It is a humble honour for us to empower the youth of this country through the Dialog President’s Gold Cup. This tournament offers young players a pathway from grassroots to national prominence. As the No.1 promoter of sport in Sri Lanka, we will continue to uphold this responsibility.
We extend our sincere gratitude to the Sri Lanka Volleyball Federation for granting us this opportunity.”
Senior Deputy Inspector General of Police Sajeeva Medawatta, President of the Sri Lanka Volleyball Federation, added: “To strengthen our national sport, we must bring rural youth to the forefront. Dialog’s continuous partnership for over two decades is commendable. Numerous national and international players have emerged through this tournament. Dialog has also consistently supported our junior and senior national teams.”
Applications for the tournament will close on 10 August 2025. Any registered sports club within a Divisional Secretariat area is eligible to participate. Players must, however, have resided in the respective division for at least two years.
Dialog Axiata is also the official sponsor of Sri Lanka’s national cricket, volleyball, netball and Esports teams, as well as the Sri Lanka Open Golf Championship. The company plays a significant role in promoting Para-sports, enabling athletes to compete both locally and internationally. As part of its broader commitment to building future champions, Dialog also supports the President’s Gold Cup Volleyball Tournament, National Junior and Senior Netball Championships, and school rugby tournaments.
England stagger to 146‑9 at the end of their 20 overs as they failed to build any sustained partnerships.
This might just be well short of a truly competitive total but they will hope the pitch does them some favours when they come out to bowl.
Brief score:
England 146/9 in 2o overs [Phil Salt 62, Harry Brook 14, Sam Curran 11,Will Jacks 21, Jamie Overton 10*; Dilshan Madushanka 2-25, Dunith Wellalage 3-26, Maheesh Theekshana 2-21, Dushmantha Chameera 1-34] vs England
Sri Lanka have opted to chase against England at Pallekele, hoping to replicate their dominance victory over Australia here to kickstart their Super Eight campaign.
It was six days ago that Pathum Nissanka’s unbeaten 100 saw the hosts chase down Australia’s total of 181 with eight wickets and two overs to spare. And with home skipper Dasun Shanaka is looking to utilise that confidence in this Group 2 encounter.
“We’ve been chasing well in the past few occasions and happy to chase again,” said Shanaka at the toss. “The boys are very confident playing here.”
England skipper Harry Brook – on his 27th birthday – again called for bravery after his side stumbled into the second stage of this tournament. The two-time champions have gone in with an unchanged team for the fourth match in a row, with Jamie Overton retaining his place as the allrounder. Brook’s only slight worry is a cut to Jacob Bethell’s bowling hand (sustained during the match against West Indies), which is likely to prevent him from bowling due to the strapping on his finger.
Sri Lanka meanwhile make two changes to their XI, with Dushmantha Chameera returning in place of Pramod Madushan, having been rested for the defeat to Zimbabwe. Kamil Mishra comes back in for the man who replaced him, Kusal Perrera, as the hosts shuffle once more in an attempt to find a functional opening partnership.
These two squads know each other very well, having only concluded a three-match T20I series against one another at the start of the month, which took place entirely in Pallekele. England secured a 3-0 scoreline, capping things off with a professional 12run win in a low scoring encounter.
As for the outfield, both sides are primed for a different evening of ground-fielding on patchy grass. Heavy rains have punctuated the five das leading into this clash. Overnight precipitation has sodden the edges of the field, though the middle parts of the ground had been well-covered.
Sri Lanka: Pathum Nissanka, Kamil Mishara, Kusal Mendis (wk), Pavan Rathnayake, Kamindu Mendis, Dasun Shanaka (capt), Dunith Wellelage, Dushan Hemantha, Maheesh Theekshana, Dilshan Madushanka, Dushmantha Chameera
England: Phil Salt, Jos Buttler (wk), Jacob Bethell, Tom Banton, Harry Brook (capt), Sam Curran, Will Jacks, Liam Dawson, Jamie Overton, Jofra Archer, Adil Rashid
[Cricinfo]
Johannes Hoesflot Klaebo, Norway’s king of cross-country skiing, broke the record for the most gold medals won at a single Winter Olympics with his sixth of the Games.
Klaebo led a Norwegian sweep of the podium in the 50km mass start classic, with team-mates Martin Loewstroem Nyenget and Emil Iversen taking silver and bronze respectively.
The 29-year-old finished the brutal distance in two hours six minutes 44.8 seconds, 8.9secs ahead of Nyenget who takes his third medal of the Games.
“It’s been crazy, it’s a dream come true,” Klaebo told BBC Sport.
“I really think this Olympics has been perfect. Being able to crown the Olympics with the 50km was unbelievable.”
Klaebo breaks the previous record of five golds from a single Games, held by American speed skater Eric Heiden since the Lake Placid Olympics of 1980.
It also extends his own record for most Winter Olympic golds to 11, while he becomes the first athlete to win all six cross-country events at one Games.
Only US swimming great Michael Phelps, who won 23 gold medals, has more Olympic titles to his name.
Born in Oslo, Klaebo moved to Trondheim – a haven of cross-country skiing trails – as a young child, a move that has seen him become the greatest to ever do the sport.
No other man, active or retired, comes close to his record of 116 World Cup wins, while he is also a 15-time world champion, winning all six titles at last year’s edition on home snow in Trondheim.
“After the world championships last year, we knew that it was possible, but to be able to do it, it’s hard to find the right words,” he told reporters.
“[There were] so many emotions when I’m crossing the finish line.”
His sixth Olympic gold at Milan-Cortina adds to the titles he had won earlier in the Games in the skiathlon, sprint classic, 10km interval start free, 4×7.5km relay and the team sprint.
[BBC]
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