Sports
SL chess players miss World Junior Chess event after Italian Embassy snub them
by Reemus Fernando
Sri Lanka team including top-ranked national player Susal de Silva who is aspiring to become the country’s first Grand Master have missed the vital opportunity of taking part in the World Junior Chess Championships in Italy after the Italian Embassy in Colombo denied the young chess players appointments for visa interviews The Island learns.
According to sources, requests from the Chess Federation of Sri Lanka, the Sports Ministry, and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs to get appointments for young chess players and their parents to meet visa officers of the Italian Embassy have fallen on deaf ears.
Sri Lanka team inclusive of Nalanda College prodigy de Silva, Nabil Nazar and Desandi Gamage were supposed to compete at the FIDE World Junior (U-20) Chess Championship 2022 in Sardinia, Italy from October 11 to 23.
The Chess Federation of Sri Lanka (on September 19) had forwarded the required documents to obtain visas following the receipt of invitations from the sport’s world governing body, while the Sports Ministry (on September 21) and the Foreign Ministry (on September 22) too have made relevant correspondence requesting speedy appointments.
One of the parents speaking to The Island said that they were ill-treated by the embassy officials when they visited the office in Colombo. With two members of the team returning to Sri Lanka on September 19 after attending the World Youth Chess Championship in Romania the parents visited the Italian Embassy on September 22.
“On September 22nd we were told that there was an audit going on at the Embassy. We were asked to come on September 26. On the 26th after checking the documents the visa officer informed us that we needed to provide the applications of the three players as minors and that all the parents should come to sign a document. Though I informed them that the parents were available at the location and we could do it within 30 minutes time, the officer asked us to come on the next day. Again on September 28th we visited the Embassy. After two hours the security personnel returned the application form asking us to come on September 29 saying that the visa officer has informed us that they couldn’t process applications on that day,” said one of the parents.
Our attempts to contact officials of the Italian Embassy yesterday were found futile.
Asked whether there was a delay on his part to apply for visas for the young players, Luxman Wijesuriya, the President of the Chess Federation of Sri Lanka said that he followed the usual procedure and the federation had never failed to obtain visas for players on any previous occasion. “We applied for the event before the deadline closed and applied for visas after receiving the invitations,” said Wijesuriya.
Colombo Kaps defended 197 runs to win the 12th match of the Lanka Premier League by restricting Dambulla Sixers to 176/8 at the Dambulla International Cricket Stadium on Saturday [25] night.
SCORES:
Colombo Kaps 197/5 in 20 overs [Rubin Hermann 39, Sadeera Samarawickrema 16, Sharujan Shanmuganathan 12, Kamindu Mendis 88*, Ben McDermott 14, Janith Liyanage 17; Fazalhaq Farooki 1-41, Dushmantha Chameera 1-41, Ramesh Mendis 1-05, Gulabdin Naib 1-15]
Dambulla Sixers 176/8 in 20 overs [Pavan Rathnayake 50, Marques Ackerman 40, Gulabdin Naib 28, Maheesh Thhekshana 13; Shahnawaz Dahani 2-20, Wanuja Sahan 1-34, Mujeeb Ur Rahman 2-33, Malsha Tharupathi 1-26, Milan Rathnayake 1-26]
Kandy Royals’ bowlers led by Nuwan Thushara were able to defend their score of 165 to win the 11th match of the Lanka Premier League by defeating Galle Gallants by 11 runs at Dambulla on Saturday.
SCORES:
Kandy Royals 165/6 in 20 overs [Lahiru Udara 16, Dale Phillips 34, Wanidu Hasaranga 16, Moeen Ali 41, Angelo Mathews 28, Vijay Shankar 15; Pramod Madushan 2-41, Akif Javed 2-26, Vijayakanth Viyaskanth 2-36]
Galle Gallants 154/8 in 20 overs [Sam Harper 14, Charith Asalanka 14, Chamika Karunarathne 52, Dasun Shanaka 57*; Nuwan Thushara 3-33, Asitha Fernando 2-33, Moeen Ali 1-11, Wanidu Hasaranga 1-26]
Innovative Production Group (IPG), the tournament rights holder of the Lanka Premier League (LPL), in consultation with Sri Lanka Cricket (SLC), has terminated the franchise agreement with Sports Commune, which was granted franchise rights of the Jaffna Kings.
The termination follows the franchisee’s inability to fulfil its financial obligations under the terms of the franchise agreement. As a result, all rights relating to the Jaffna Kings franchise have reverted to IPG, which, together with Sri Lanka Cricket, has assumed full operational control of the team.
IPG confirms that the 6th edition of the LPL will proceed as scheduled and Jaffna Kings will continue to participate in the tournament under the same nomenclature, with no changes to the squad, tournament format, or match schedule.
To ensure the uninterrupted operation of the franchise, IPG and Sri Lanka Cricket have taken complete responsibility for all player, coaching staff, and support staff contracts. The organizers also confirm that all logistical arrangements for the team have been secured, ensuring the squad is intact for the tournament.
Furthermore, approximately 90% of all player and staff payments have already been completed, with the remaining payments to be settled in accordance with contractual commitments.
IPG and Sri Lanka Cricket remain committed to delivering a successful sixth edition of the Lanka Premier League while upholding the highest standards of professionalism, integrity and transparency for players, teams, commercial partners, and fans.
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