Sports
Story behind Shanika’s record breaking feat
The team trained by Madura Perera. Back row from left: Piyumika Weerathisun, Ayan Thushara, Lahiru Sampath, Madura Perera (Coach), Chandima Sadaruwan, Himantha Kavidu, Sadun Krishantha. Front row from left: Charuni Pramudika, Samanthika Liyanage, Shanika Lakshani, Sureka Sewwandhi, Nawodhaya Madushani, Shiwanthi Jayathilaka And Saumaya Dilrukshi.
by Reemus Fernando
Hailing from a not so well to do family from Gampaha, Shanika Lakshani had many an obstacle to overcome before she shattered the 35 year old Junior National record held by Dammika Menike at the last month’s National Athletics Championships. Probably the most challenging one was the Covid 19 forced lockdown strictly enforced in the Gampaha District following the outbreak of the second wave of the pandemic. According to her coach Madura Perera who has been training a team of nearly 30 athletes, months of hard work behind preparing athletes for the National Championship, would have gone wasted if not for the extra effort taken to continue training amidst the pandemic.
“Unavailability of training facilities was the biggest obstacle during the pandemic. With grounds and training facilities shutdown it was difficult to continue training. I and Chandana Amarasinghe requested support to conduct residential training at the Subodhi Ground, Gampaha so that training could continue without interruption. Our request was given special attention to by the Additional District Secretary Sugath Kithsiri, who got the approval from health authorities to conduct training,” said Perera who considers it as one of the cornerstones of the success of his team.
Shanika Lakshani who broke the 35 year old Junior National record of Dammika Menike poses with her coach Madura Perera. (Pix by Kamal Wanniarachchi)
At a time when sport is not high in the agenda of many government officials, the support given by the Additional District Secretary of Gampaha is highly commendable.
“He not only gave us permission but also found couple of sponsors to look after the extra nutritional needs of athletes. It was athletes who bore the costs of food but Mr. Sugath Kithsiri went out of his way to help us reduce costs,” said Perera.
Perera said that the residential camp has also helped him address nutritional issues of some athletes. He said it wouldn’t have been possible had they been taken care of by their parents.
Many athletes give up sports due to the negligence of authorities. Support does not only mean big time sponsorships as it is proven in the case of Perera’s team. The support given by the government official was crucial in Shanika reaching the standard to break the more than three decades old junior national record. She not only broke the record but also came almost close to achieving entry standards for the World Under-20 Championships in two disciplines. It was a huge confidence boost for junior athletes who not only missed competitions but also training opportunities during the pandemic.
When Shanika broke Dammika Menike’s record she was just five seconds behind the entry standard for 1500 metres. In the 800 metres she missed the entry standard by just milliseconds.
Madura Perera is confident that Shanika Lakshani would reach entry standards for the World Junior Championships during the next few months.
Perera is confident that his charge would achieve the entry standard during the next National Championships in April or the Junior National Championships both of which are scheduled within the qualifying period.
While Shanika Lakshani hogged limelight breaking a junior record, there were few other athletes trained by Perera who had their own success.
Though a number of them missed medals they had been able to finish among the top athletes. A fresher Gayan Thushara who was placed fifth in the 400 metres hurdles and Shivanthi Jayathilaka who was placed fifth in the women’s 200 metres have shown lot of promise.
Triple jumper Sandun Krishantha, steeplechase athlete M.S. Sewwandi, long distance runner Dilhani Liyanage and hurdler Lahiru Sampath are among the other athletes who have impressed in their pet events at other national level competitions.
At a time when the contribution of sports officers for the development of sports is questioned, the way this team has overcome barriers is exemplary.
91st Battle of the Saints
St. Joseph’s hold the edge when they meet arch rivals St. Peter’s in the 91st Battle of the Saints’ big match starting today. After having beaten Petes by nine wickets in the Under 19 Division I Tier ‘A’ quarter-final at Polonnaruwa the Joes arive at the SSC ground to prove that the victory registered two months ago was not a fluke.
St. Joseph’s captained by wicketkeeper batsman Kenath Liyanage are concluding a successful season after having remained unbeaten until they were eliminated in the semi-final by St. Sebastian’s .
A strong batting lineup and a dynamic spin department are making them a formidable outfit.
Experienced campaigner Yenula Dewthusa and Demion de Silva with their left-arm spin and Aveesha Samash and Nushan Perera with off spin provide the Joes variety in the spin department. Dewthusa, Demion de Silva and Nushan Perera are their leading wicket takers. Spinners doing well at schools matches have not been effective at the SSC during the last few big matches. It will be interesting to watch as to how the spinners in these two teams would fare during the three days.
For pace the Joes will look to Maanasa Madubashana and Dunick Perera who are expected to share the new ball.
Abishek Jayaweera and Aveesha Samash will open batting, while Senuja Wakunugoda, skipper Liyanage, Dewthusa and Rishma Amarasinghe form the rest of the top order batting lineup.
St. Joseph’s registered three outright victories this season (beat St. Servatius’, St. Benedict’s and St. Peter’s) and remained unbeaten.
St. Peter’s under Oween Salgado’s captaincy did well to reach the business end of the Tier ‘A’ tournament. But the Petes were uncertain of Salgado’s participation in the big match as they were yet to assess his fitness yesterday morning. He was wounded during a match and the stitched wound had not fully healed according to team sources.
Petes beat Gurukula, St. Aloysius’ and Holy Cross this season. Their only defeat was at the hands of their arch rivals. They will look forward to avenge the defeat at the big match.
The Petes will rely on the likes of Dilana Damsara, Thareen Sanketh, Nathan David and Jason Fernando to take a greater share of batting responsibilities. The middle order batsman Sanketh is their leading batsman and has maintained an average of over 50 runs.
Speedsters Ethan Ransilige and Joshua Sebastian will share new ball duties for the Petes.
Lashmika Perera and Sanketh will share most of the slow ball duties.
St Peter’s are in the possession of the coveted Rev. Fr. Maurice J. Le Goc Trophy having last won the big match under the captaincy of Vinu Mohotty in 2016.
St. Joseph’s lead the series tally 12-10. They last won under Ruwantha Fernandopulle’s captaincy in 2008.
St. Peter’s College Team
(Seated from left) Harsha Prabath Perera (Asst. Physio/Trainer & Massuer), Thushara Maduhanka (1st XI Asst. Coach),
Nalin Wijesinghe (Head Coach), Priyadarshana Cooray (MIC – Senior & Junior), Oween Salgado (Captain), Rev. Fr.
Rohitha Rodrigo (Rector), Rev. Fr. Praveen Wijesekara (Priest in Charge – Cricket), Lashmika Perera
(Vice Captain), Dilana Damsara, Rohan Fernando (MIC – 2nd XI), Dinuka D. Godakanda (2nd XI Coach).
(Standing 1st row from left) Dinsara Rathnaweera, Dineth de Silva, Tharin Senvidu, Nathan David, Hiruka Silva, Thareen
Sanketh, Virul Amarapala, Yatheendra Jayaweera, Salith Gallage, Raphael Hettige. (Standing 2nd row from left) Jason Fernando,
Joshua Sebastian, Savi Fernnado, Ethan Ransilige, Asadisa De Silva, Sadeesha Kariyawasam, Enosh Peterson
by Reemus Fernando
120th Lovers’ Quarrel
The stakeholders of the Lovers’ Quarrel Big Match were still pursuing to make the historic 120th edition a reality on the eve of the match after Richmond authorities threatened to pull out citing that Mahinda had violated an accepted norm by included a newly recruited player in the big match team.
The historic edition was scheduled to commence as a three day encounter at the Galle International Stadium today. But the match remained doubtful at the time this edition went to press. The officials of both teams were unavailable for comments on the eve of the match. According to sources close to the two teams the joint big match committee was scheduled to meet in the evening yesterday to take a final decision regarding the match.
Richmond threatened to pull out after Mahinda included Charya Paranavithana in their big match team. Paranavithana captained St. Aloysius’ this season. He is not eligible to play matches that come under the purview of Sri Lanka Schools Cricket Association as he is yet to be registered as a Mahinda player. Big Matches are not played according to SLSCA rules but Richmond authorities had raised concerns over the player registration citing that the two schools had honoured the norm even at the big match.
According to sources Richmond were threatening to pull out if Paranavithana’s name was included in the playing XI on the match day morning.
Mahinda concluded a highly successful season as the team captained by Kaveen Rukshan earned the Under 19 Division I Tier ‘A’ promotion this year. They were also the joint champions of the Tier ‘B’ tournament with Thurstan. In contrast former Division I champions Richmond had to fight relegation scares. The team captained by Thamindu Pradeeptha later successfully retained their Tier A position by recording an outright victory.
Mahinda College Team
Seated left to right: T.D. Ajantha Kumara (Head Coach), Y. Nishantha Kumara (Master in Charge – Senior), L. P. Weeraman (Deputy Principal –
Sports), Kaveen Rukshan (Captain), Mr. Janaka Peduruheva (Principal), Arosha Udayanga (Vice Captain), Mr. M.W. Ajith (Prefect of Games), Mr.
Jagath Samarakoon (Master in charge – Junior), Mr. Sachith Lakmal (Asst. Coach)
Standing (Middle row) – left to right – Dineth Pahasara, Thiyon Helika, Vinupa Nethmira, Sahanjith Irugalbandara, Dulisth Darshana, Senuka
Dangamuwa, Sadew Nethmina, Manitha Rajapaksha, Vishmitha Sathsara, Charya Paranavithana, Randula Mabarana
Standing (Back row) – left to right – Sajeew Punsara, Sehas Ashinsa, Kaveesha Githmal, Thevindu Rashmika
by Reemus Fernando
CR & FC huffed and puffed before beating Havelocks Sports Club 25-24 in a keenly contested Clifford Cup semi final game worked off in Colombo yesterday before booking their berth in Sunday’s rugby final, scheduled to take place in Kandy.
In Sunday’s final, CR will meet Kandy SC, the winner of the first semi final.
CR dominated the first half, but Havies came from behind in the second half to be in contention of pulling the game off till the last minute. Havelocks’ chances were boosted with two powerful tries coming from Chathura Dilshan late in the second half. But unpardonable mistakes by the men in the pink and chocolate jerseys helped CR to slip away with the game. Havelocks gave away two yellow cards during extra time in the second half.
The winners collected their points through three tries, two conversions and two penalties while Havelocks responded with three converted tries and a penalty. The winners led 15-10 at half time. Referee Raveen Alexander controlled the game.
By A Special Sports Correspondent
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