Sports
Throwers eager to create history at Tokyo Paralympics
Pradeep Nishantha the coach of Sri Lanka’s Paralympic medallist Dinesh Priyantha Herath believes that his charges now in Tokyo have the ability to create Paralympics history when they compete on Monday.
“All my three throwers will be in action on Monday. I am hopeful that they would create history here,” said Nishantha in an online interview with The Sunday Island.
“All three throwers are in good shape and they are eager to perform,” said Nishantha who first trained Herath to win bronze at the Rio Paralympics five years ago.
Sri Lanka has won just two medals at Paralympics. Pradeep Sanjaya won the country’s first medal, a bronze in T46 400 metres at the 2012 London Paralympics.
Herath, who is the captain of the Sri Lanka team at the Tokyo Paralympics won the second medal, once again a bronze medal in F46 javelin throw at the last Paralympics with a throw of 58.23 metres.
Sri Lanka Army athlete who celebrated his 35th birth day last month has improved since then to be in a better shape for this edition. With Nishantha’s trainees and the other track and field para athletes in good shape for this edition the Tokyo Paralympics is offering a chance for them to create history.
The winner of the Asian Para Games F46 javelin event, Herath said in 2018 that his ambition was to win gold at the Tokyo Paralympics. The Gajaba Sports Club member proved how close he was to the target in 2019 when he won silver at the World Championships despite an injury. There he cleared 60.59 metres.
Sri Lanka has four throwers competing in Tokyo. Of them three are javelin throwers, all trained by Nishantha.
While Herath will compete in the morning on Monday with the aim of improving the colour of the medal won at the last edition, Sampath Hettiarachchi and Samitha Dulan will take the field in the afternoon on the same day.
Hettiarachchi from Sri Lanka Army’s Vijayabahu Sports Club has a silver medal from the 2018 Asian Para Games. He will be competing in F64 javelin throw.
Dulan who is from Military Police Sports Club was placed fourth at the World Para Athletics Championships in Dubai in 2019. He will be eager to improve on that ranking in the F44 javelin throw. (RF)
The second T20I between Sri Lanka and Pakistan which was to be played at Dambulla was abandoned without a ball being bowled due to rain.
In its fourth season, the WPL now feels part of the system, shaping careers and standards in increasingly visible ways. Most notably, it played a part in India winning their first ODI World Cup last year. How ’bout that. Almost silly that there was a time when this idea struggled to get off the ground.
While rivalries are still taking shape in this five-team league, Mumbai Indians vs Royal Challengers Bengaluru has all the ingredients of being the best one. Borrowing from its IPL counterpart, it pits two of the biggest names in Indian cricket, Harmanpreet Kaur and Smriti Mandhana, against each other. They are also the only teams to have lifted the trophy so far, with MI holding a slender 4-3 head-to-head advantage
There is an extra layer of significance this time. Harmanpreet and Mandhana return to the venue where the defining night of their international careers played out two months ago. The DY Patil Stadium will stir fond memories not just for the two captains but also for the India players on both sides, even if the sea of MI blue in the stands is expected to outweigh RCB’s red, black and gold. It was here that the duo shared an emotional hug after India clinched the World Cup, before circling the ground together, singing and dancing long into the night. On the eve of the WPL opener, both admitted those memories came flooding back as they walked into the stadium.
Harmanpreet has since spoken of the venue becoming a hub for women’s cricket in India, a sentiment Mandhana echoed ahead of the season. “Whenever you enter the ground, you remember exactly where the last catch was taken,” she said, recalling Harmanpreet’s leap at extra cover to dismiss South Africa’s Nadine de Klerk and seal the win in the final. “This is still just one-and-a-half months later, but even after 20 years, if we come back to this ground, we are still going to remember exactly what happened on November 2.”
The friendship remains untouched but once the WPL begins, Harmanpreet said the focus will be on “how we can win against each other.”
For defending champions MI, the template established in the inaugural season – continuity, role clarity, a strong core and enviable depth – continues to serve them well. Retaining five players ahead of the auction preserved the backbone of the batting, while the return of familiar faces ensured stability. While other teams opted for reshuffles, MI doubled down on their processes, backing experience, investing in youth and trusting a leadership group that has grown with the league.
RCB arrive with a sense of renewal after missing the knockouts last season. Mandhana remains the face of the team, supported by T20 firepower in Georgia Voll, Grace Harris, Richa Ghosh and Nadine de Klerk, though Ellyse Perry’s withdrawal leaves questions at the top. Their bowling, however, looks formidable, with pace from Lauren Bell, Arundhati Reddy, Pooja Vastrakar and de Klerk, and spin options in Radha Yadav, Shreyanka Patil and Harris.
G Kamalini 17, was retained by MI ahead of the auction alongside players like Harmanpreet, Sciver-Brunt, Matthews and Amanjot, which is an indicator of how highly she is rated. A left-handed wicketkeeper-batter with the ability to go big, Kamalini offers flexibility in the line-up. She made her WPL debut last season and announced herself in just her second game, against RCB, holding her nerve to seal a last over victory, She continued to impress in the domestic circuit, which earned her a maiden India call-up late last year for the T20I series against Sri Lanka, where she made her international debut. Captain Harmanpreet indicated ahead of this season that Kamalini would be given a “special role”, suggesting a move up the order, and said she expects the teenager to be one of the “main players” in the team.
After missing WPL 2025 and spending more than a year sidelined by a series of injuries, spin-bowling allrounder Shreyanka Patil returns to the tournament that launched her into prominence. She was just 20 when she debuted for RCB in 2023, and her rise was swift, with India T20I and ODI caps following later that year. Patil enjoyed a breakthrough campaign in 2024, finishing as the tournament’s leading wicket-taker as RCB went on to lift their maiden title. She made her return from injury at the Women’s CPL last September, featured in the domestic season for Karnataka, and was one of four players retained by RCB ahead of the auction. In the lead-up to the season, Patil has focused on fine-tuning her offspin, batting and overall fitness during a month-long conditioning camp at the private academy where she trains.
As Sri Lanka arrive on the doorstep of another World Cup, there is the usual attendant instability. The captain has been switched out but the team is still losing against good opposition. The top order is being rejigged frequently, and yet consistent scores are not forthcoming. There are strong elements in the attack – such as the bowling of Dushmantha Chameera and Wanindu Hasaranga – but there is fragility elsewhere. It might not take much to turn them around though. The raw materials of a decent T20 side are there.
Pakistan, meanwhile, have no serious work-ons from Wednesday, save for the catching and ground fielding. Head coach Mike Hesson described their big win in the first T20I as “very clinical”, praising not only the bowling that decked Sri Lanka for 128, but the top order batters who aced the chase as well.
That they are putting up such performances while key players – such as Babar Azam – are away in the Big Bash League, is especially impressive. If they are to put together a good campaign in the forthcoming World Cup, Wednesday’s win might have been the day they planted their flag in Sri Lanka. So far, they seem at ease in these conditions.
In the T20I tri-series in Pakistan last month, Pakistan opener Sahibzada Farhan had topped the run list, hitting 191 runs at a strike rate of 147. He has now made a bright start in Sri Lanka, hitting 51 off 36 in his first innings on the island. Farhan was especially good at taking down the round-arm seam of Nuwan Thushara, which caused significant problems for Sri Lanka, who require early wickets from Thushara. Farhan’s dominance will make Sri Lanka think twice about playing Thushara in this match.
Second on that run chart from the tri-series last month was Kamil Mishara with 169 runs at a strike rate of 139. He couldn’t get going on Wednesday, registering a three-ball duck after he spooned a catch to mid off. But he has shown glimpses of serious talent at the top level. Impactful innings in this series and the one to come against England will likely seal his spot at the top of the order.
The Dambulla surface for the first ODI was conducive to spin. At this time of year, showers are possible, but are unlikely to last long enough to wash out the match.
Pakistan may see no need to change their XI while Sri Lanka may consider bringing in Matheesha Pathirana for Thushara, which will mean Dasun Shanaka is required to bowl with the new ball.
Pakistan: Sahibzada Farhan, Saim Ayub, Fakhar Zaman, Salman Agha (capt.), Usman Khan (wk), Mohammad Nawaz, Shadab Khan, Faheem Ashraf, Mohammad Wasim, Salman Mirza, Abrar Ahmed
Sri Lanka: Pathum Nissanka, Kamil Mishara, Kusal Mendis (wk), Dhananjaya de Silva, Charith Asalanka, Dasun Shanaka (capt.), Janith Liyanage, Wanindu Hasaranga, Dushmantha Chameera, Maheesh Theekshana, Matheesha Pathirana/Nuwan Thushara
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