Sports

Tharushi: Following in the footsteps of Asian Games legends

Published

2 years ago

2024/09/1

Thilina Walpola

Tharushi Karunaratne

by Reemus Fernando

Asian Games medallist Tharushi Karunaratne is following in the footsteps of some Sri Lankan legends who stole the limelight at the Asian Games while pursuing university education in the US. The 19-year-old who represented Sri Lanka at the Paris Olympics was scheduled to leave for the US on Saturday (31) to follow a management degree at the Tulane University, Louisiana which had offered her a full scholarship. Will she replicate the legendary achievements of the likes of S.L.B. Rosa and the late Nagalingam Ethirveerasingam or will she fade into the oblivion like many who disappeared from the sporting radar after commencing higher education in the US?

Hailing from a not so well to do family and after encountering numerous obstacles which would have otherwise forced her to give up sports prematurely, Tharushi has accomplished targets many top level athletes had dreamt of achieving for decades. Her predecessors, Gayanthika Abeyratne and Nimali Liyanarachchi had toiled hard for nearly two decades before they came closer to breaking Sriyani Dammika Menike’s 1992 national record. The Sooriyawewa duo had won Sri Lanka honours at regional level in the 800 metres but Asian Games medals kept eluding them. Susantha Fernando transformed Tharushi from a mere schools games record holder to a near sub two minute athlete and an Asian Games gold medallist while she was still in her teens.

The gold medal has transformed Tharushi and her family as the financial rewards that came her way has helped her take independent decisions. Whether it will work for her or not in the sports front she is going to a university of her choice and the scholarship she has received will enable her to concentrate on her education fully. When current national high jump record holder Ushan Thivanka went to the US for higher education he had to work extra hours to pay for his education and to support his parents.

Of the Sri Lankan athletes who sought higher education opportunities in the US, Olympians Ethirveerasingam, Rosa and Manjula Kumara stand out as they continued to represent Sri Lanka at international events while pursuing higher education. Ethirveerasingam and Rosa went on to win Asian Games medals while pursuing education in the US. Thivanka improved the national record to South Asian regional record heights but has not represented Sri Lanka for years now. Thrower Charith Kapukotuwa too went on to break national records while studying in the US though he did not get opportunities to represent Sri Lanka.

Asian Junior Championship (2012) medalist Supun Viraj Randeniya was one of the brightest prospects to emerge. The former Ranabima Royal athlete did well in his first couple of years in the US. But the athlete whom many enthusiasts predicted would one day break Mahesh Perera’s national record never represented Sri Lanka thereafter.

High jumper Poornima Gunarathna was the last Sri Lankan (top level) female athlete to seek higher education in the US. She had a personal best of 1.80 metres (2018) before she went to the US. Her last (World Athletics) recorded performance is a mediocre 1.60m (2022). Like Gunarathna, there had been many others who had shown a lot of promise in their teenage years but had either given up on sports or had failed to strike a balance between sports and education in the ‘land of opportunities’.

Tharushi earned Sri Lanka its first Asian Games gold medal in track and field in decades. Will she go on to win more accolades or will the Ratnayake Central athlete be remembered only for her heroics in China?

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Sooryavanshi’s stunning 93 takes Rajasthan Royals closer to IPL playoffs

Published

6 hours ago

2026/05/20

Priyan

Vaibhav Sooryavanshi brought out a new celebration, after reaching fifty [Cricinfo]

No Riyan Parag? No Ravindra Jadeja? No fast start for Vaibhav Sooriyavanshi? No problem for Rajasthan Royals (RR) as they hunted down 221 against Lucknow Super Giants (LSG) and moved up to No.4 on the points table. If RR also win their final league game against Mumbai Indians on Sunday, they will firm up their playoffs spot, irrespective of other results.

In RR’s chase of 221, Sooryavanshi got off to an unusually slow start – he was on 11 off 12 balls at one point. After watching his opening partner and RR stand-in captain Yashasvi Jaiswal dominate the powerplay, Sooryavanshi cranked up to top gear when he lined up left-arm seamer Akash Singh for two sixes and three fours in the ninth over. He then went on a more familiar six-hitting spree and by the time he was dismissed for 93 off 38 balls in the 14th over, he extended his sixes tally in IPL 2026 to 53. Only Chris Gayle has smashed more sixes in an IPL season, back in 2012 when Sooryavanshi was a year old.

Dhruv Jurel sealed the chase for RR with a calm fifty in the company of Donnovan Ferreira.

Jofra Archer ran in hard and hit the Jaipur deck harder, but even his extreme pace and bounce wasn’t going to bother Mitchell Marsh and Josh Inglis, the Western Australia boys. In the first over, Marsh advanced down the track, manufactured swinging room and flayed Archer for a four and a six over the covers.

Inglis was more fluent square of the wicket or behind square. He scooped Archer over short fine leg for four in the third over and by the end of the powerplay, LSG racked up 83 for 0. Four of LSG’s top-five powerplay scores in the IPL have come in this season. RR’s attack, meanwhile, went wicketless in the powerplay for a fourth successive game.

Wristspinner Yash Raj Punja bowled the first boundary-less over in the first innings. In the 13th over, he conceded only seven runs to go with the wicket of Nicholas Pooran (16). That over triggered a passage of play where LSG went 22 without a boundary. Earlier, he had stopped LSG’s opening stand at 109 in the ninth over when he tossed up a wrong’un on an in-between length and bowled Inglis for 60 off 29 balls. Punja returned figures of 4-0-35-2, demonstrating why RR trusted him and promoted him into their main squad after he was a net bowler with the side in the previous season.

Marsh brought up his fifty off 25 balls, but could manage only 43 off his last 32 balls on the day. The lack of pace from Punja, Sandeep Sharma and Dasun Shanaka slowed him down. “To be honest, felt like torture out there,” Marsh summed up the back-end of his innings. He suggested that he may have left a few boundaries out there.

Marsh, Rishabh Pant and Ayush Badoni all departed in the final over of the innings, bowled by Archer, which cost RR only five runs.

RR came out swinging in the powerplay in the chase, but it was Jaiswal, and not Sooryavanshi, who was doing most of the swinging during that phase. He was responsible for 39 of the 71 runs RR scored in the powerplay. Jaiswal latched onto anything that was remotely wide of off. His four fours off Akash in a 23-run first over, bowled by Akash, set the tone for the chase.

By the end of the powerplay, Sooryavanshi was on 25 off 16 balls, which was measured by his standards. All of 15, he had the maturity that he could catch up on a pitch where the ball came onto the bat nicely. He reached his half-century off 23 balls with a reverse-sweep and threatened to convert it into a century until Mohsin Khan stopped him. He finished with a strike rate of almost 245.

Prince Yadav, who had earned a call-up to India’s ODI squad earlier in the day, was pumped for back-to-back sixes. The other Yadav – Mayank – wasn’t spared either, with the teenage phenom launching him for back-to-back sixes in the next over.

Sooryavanshi holed out while attempting his 11th six, but by then he had snatched the Orange Cap from Marsh. Jurel then anchored the chase while Ferreira applied the finishing touches.

Brief scores:
Rajasthan Royals 225 for 3 in 19.1 overs (Yashasvi Jaiswal 43, Vaibhav Sooryavanshi 93, Dhruv Jurel 53*, Donovan Fereira 16*; Akash Singh 1-54, Mohsin Khan 1-31) beat Lucknow Super Giants 220 for 5 in 20 overs (Mitchell Marsh 96, Josh Inglis 60, Nicholas Pooran 16, Rishabh Pant 35; Jofra Archer 1-39, Yash Raj Punja 2-35) by seven wickets

[Cricinfo]

Sports

Sri Lanka women’s volleyball team ready for Central Asian challenge

Published

7 hours ago

2026/05/20

Sahan Weerasooriya

Sri Lanka women’s volleyball team will leave for Central Asian Volleyball Championship today.

The Sri Lanka women’s volleyball team, powered by Dialog Axiata is set to depart the country today to compete in the 2026 Central Asian Women’s Volleyball Championship, which will be held from 22 to 29 May with the participation of eight nations from across the region.

The tournament will be played in two preliminary groups, with the Sri Lankan side, captained by Ashani Chamodika, drawn in Group ‘B’ alongside Kazakhstan, Iran and Bangladesh. Group ‘A’ will feature India, Kyrgyzstan, Maldives and hosts Nepal.

Sri Lanka Head Coach Amila Wijepala believes the team is well prepared to face the challenge despite being drawn in a highly competitive group.

“Our group is comparatively more challenging than Group ‘A’. Kazakhstan recently secured third place at the Asian Women’s Volleyball Championship after defeating China, making them our toughest challenge. We are confident of overcoming Bangladesh, while I also believe our players possess the ability to defeat Iran. Our objective is to win at least two matches and qualify for the semi-finals,” he said.

Vice President of the Sri Lanka Volleyball Federation, Mahinda Bandara, expressed confidence in the squad and praised the players for their commitment during the preparation period.

“We are fielding a very strong side for this tournament. The players have undergone close to two months of residential training at the Watupitiwala Indoor Stadium. We are grateful to the Ministry of Sports for its invaluable assistance in facilitating this tour. We also sincerely appreciate the continued sponsorship and commitment shown by Dialog Axiata towards Sri Lanka’s national sport and this international campaign,” he said.

The Sri Lanka squad for the Central Asian Women’s Volleyball Championship includes high-ball hitters Dilukshi Harshani, Nimeshika Sewwandi, Preethika Pramodani, Timi Mary, Arana Sanjeewani and Shalu Thilakshana. Short-ball hitters are Sanjeewani Karunaratne, Dilki Nethsara, Sesandi Ruwanya and Piumi Bhashini.

Naduni Nimansala and Kavindi Asanthika will serve as liberos, while captain Ashani Chamodika and Dilki Charuka have been named as setters.

The support staff includes Head Coach Amila Wijepala, Assistant Coach Udaya Rukmal, Trainer Upendra Perera, Women’s Team Officer Renuka Nilmini and Team Manager Mahesh Kariyawasam.

Sports

Dayan Indunil powers Brandix Apparel to the final

Published

7 hours ago

2026/05/20

Sahan Weerasooriya

15TH STAFFORD MOTORS – MCA G DIVISION T20 LEAGUE CRICKET TOURNAMENT

Dayan Indunil starred with both bat and ball [86 off 48 balls and 4-10 in 4 overs] to power Brandix Apparel to a 70 run win over Stafford Motors at the Nalanda College grounds on Sunday [17] and qualify for the final of the Stafford Motors sponsored MCA G division T20 cricket tournament.

Invited to bat first on a cloudy day, Brandix were 108/1 at the halfway stage of their innings but were unable to keep up the run rate after the fall of the second wicket and were bowled out for 151. Chasing 152 to qualify for the final, Stafford Motors fell victim to the Brandix bowlers led by Dayan Indunil and Sampath Jayalath and were bowled out for 81 runs in 14.3 overs.

Brandix will meet Maliban Biscuits ‘B’ at the MCA ground next Sunday for the final.

Brief scores:

Brandix Apparel

151/10 in 19.1 overs [Dayan Indunil 86, Sampath Jayalath 14, Sasitha Ashan 13; Janith Maduwantha 3-29, Shanaka Sampath 2-25, Vihanga Malith 1-36, Sanjaya Fernando 1-17, Asanka Kumarage 3-20]

Stafford Motors

81/10 in 14.3 overs [Gajindu Yasas 24, Vihanga Malith 10, Vishwa Rajapaksha 27; Janaka Weerapokuna 1-20, Dayan Indunil 4-10, Sampath Jayalath 3-18, Akila Dhanuddara 2-14]