Sports
Shanika caps a successful year with three meet records for Gampaha
Youth National Championships
by Reemus Fernando
Middle distance runner Shanika Lakshani capped the year 2021 with impressive performances by winning the Under 20 800 metres and the 1500 metres with new meet record marks at the Youth National Championships concluded at the Sugathadasa Stadium.
The Holy Cross College, Gampaha athlete clocked 2:11.27 seconds to win the 800 metres and cruised to a 4:35.55 seconds finish in the 1,500 metres. She was the only athlete to run the latter distance below five minutes to erase the ten-year-old record held by Ratnapura District athlete Chamika Jayamini.
When the Gampaha District won the overall championship of the Youth National Championships for the seventh consecutive year on Wednesday, Lakshani had accounted for three track victories. She was also part of the gold medal-winning 4×400 metres relay team which also established a new meet record of 3:50.56 secs.
Re weiting the record books was expected as the athlete trained by Madhura Perera had already run faster times in both the 800 metres and the 1,500 metres.
Shanika represented Sri Lanka at this year’s Junior World Championships in Nairobi and is the current junior national record holder after smashing one of the oldest athletics records in 2020. She renewed a more than three decades old junior record held by former National Champion Dammika Menike a year ago at the same venue.
Lakshani who represented Sri Lanka at the Asian Youth Athletics Championship in 2019 is among a few dozen school athletes to have continued training despite the pandemic situation during the last two years.
The Youth National Championship concluded on Wednesday saw 12 new meet records being established. Gampaha District athletes accounted for five of them. Lakshima Mendis had a meet to remember as she established a new record in the Under 20 girls’ 400 metres. She clocked 56.00 seconds to win and was adjudged the best athlete in her age category.
Kurunegala District hurdler Kaushalya Dias was adjudged the best athlete for a feat of 14.27 seconds in the Under 20 110 metres hurdles, Kandy District long jumper Yasindu Herath who won the men’s long jump (7.52m) and Kurunegala District hurdler Kaushalya Madushani, the women’s 400 metres hurdles winner were the best athletes in the Over 20 men’s and women’s categories respectively.
Virat Kohli has communicated his desire to retire from Test cricket to the BCCI ahead of the big five-match series in England starting June 20, for which he is expected to be a part of the squad. ESPNcricinfo understands that Kohli has been having these conversations with officials of the BCCI for the past month or so.
If Kohli doesn’t change his mind, he will bring the curtain down on a glorious career that has spanned 14 years and included 123 Tests – 68 of them as captain – in which he has 9230 runs at an average of 46.85.
But it hasn’t been a particularly fruitful time in the format for Kohli of late. When he scored 100 not out in the Perth Test in November 2024, it was his first century in Tests since July 2023 (against West Indies in Port of Spain), and his average, 55.10 at its peak after he scored his career best of 254 not out vs South Africa in Pune in 2019, has been 32.56 over the last 24 months.
(Cricinfo)
The remainder of PSL 2025 has been postponed indefinitely. The PCB cited the “worsening of the situation” at the Pakistan-India border as the reason, saying the board had acted on advice from the Pakistan prime minister Shahbaz Sharif.
The board said it had “sincere regard for the mental well-being of participating players and the sentiments of our foreign players, and we respect the concerns of their families who want to see them back home” and that was considered when making the decision.
The development came less than 24 hours after the PCB had announced that the remaining eight games of the PSL would be played in the UAE, without specifying the dates or the venues, with the expectation that it would take about a week to resume.
Overseas players as well as Pakistani players who currently hold visas to the UAE were scheduled to leave on Friday night, with the remaining visas being applied for over the weekend. That, however, has changed, and the teams have begun disbanding with immediate effect, with travel back home being arranged for foreign players.
There is no word yet on when, or if, the remaining games will be played. The postponement came hours after the IPL was temporarily suspended owing to the tensions between the two countries.
The PSL held an emergency meeting in Islamabad on Thursday, and involved the PCB chairman Mohsin Naqvi meeting with foreign players, who overwhelmingly expressed a desire to relocate the league to the UAE.
“The PCB recognises the efforts and support of its partners, franchises, participating players, broadcasters, sponsors, and organisers in having ensured the smooth conduct of the tournament thus far, however; cricket while being a unifying force and a source of joy, must take a respectful pause…” the PCB statement said.
[Cricinfo]
World Relays 2025
A ‘full strength Sri Lanka 4×400 metres mixed relay team’ will compete against formidable European powerhouses when they take part in the first heat of the relay on day one of the World Relays in Guangzhou, China on Saturday.
“We will field our best four for the heats,” said W.M.G. Thushara, the mamager cum coach of the Sri Lanka team in an interview with The Island after reaching Guangzhou yesterday.
There is one junior athlete in the six member team but Sri Lankan authorities have decided to field the full strength team in the heats.
“It will be Nadeesha Ramanayake, Nishendra Fernando, Kalinga Kumarage and Aruna Dharshana as we are planning to produce our best performace,” Thushara said.
Ramanayake, Kumarage and Dharshana were part of the team that established a new national record in the mixed relay at the Asian Athletics Championship in 2023. Only missing member from that team is Tharushi Karunaratne.
Sri Lanka team will compete in the first heat where Switzerland, France, Belgium, Germany and hosts China are the others. The first two from the heats will directly qualify for the World Relays and also the World Championships to be held in Tokyo.
Sri Lanka fielded only the mixed relay team for the World Relays despite the men’s 4×400 team qualifying for the event. The World Relays starting today is the main qualifying competition for relay events at the World Athletics Championships Tokyo 25.
by Reemus Fernando
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