Sports
Youth athletes end competition drought with notable feats
by Reemus Fernando
Youth athletes ended a two-year long competition drought producing notable feats at the Youth Selection Trial conducted by Sri Lanka Athletics at the Sugathadasa Stadium over the weekend.
A remarkable 5.73 metres long jump feat from little known Nannapurawa MV, Moneragala, athlete Madushani Herath, a stunning 17.74 metres throw in the shot put by Jayavi Ranhinda of Royal College, Panadura, 2:14.45 seconds finish in the girls’ 800 metres by Nirmali Wickramasinghe of Wickramabahu MV, Gampola and a host of impressive sprint finishes highlighted that all was not lost due to the absence of competitions during the last two years for youth athletes.
In sprint events, Sir John Kothalawala College, Kurunegala sprinters Avishka Theminda and Maheema Pravindi registered the 400 metres victories. Pravindi who was also the winner of the 200 metres on Saturday, returned a time of 58.43 seconds to win, while Nirmali Wickramasinghe, the winner of the 800 metres and Shehara Karunaratne of Lyceum Wattala clocked sub 60 seconds. Theminda stopped the clock at 50.45 seconds to win the boys’ event.
In a closely contested girls’ 100 metres final three clocked sub 13 seconds. Colombo International School, Kandy sprinter Seneka Guneratne pipped Dhanani Kodithuwakku and Ruwansa Weerakkody to the second and third places as she clocked 12.66 seconds.
Mahinda College sprinter Ayesh Mihiranga proved that he is an athlete to be reckoned with when he overcame a disastrous start to be placed second in the 200 metres. On Sunday he made sure that he take a solid start to clock 10.94 seconds to win the 100 metres.
Competing in the boys’ shot put on Saturday, Ranhinda was on a zone of his own as all his throws landed well beyond the reach of others. Of his six throws five were measured over 17 metres. The next best was St. Joseph’s thrower D.I. White’s 12.98 metres.
Madushani Herath was the clear favourite for victory in the girls’ long jump as she made clean take offs against several failures by Dananjana Sithmini of Lyceum Wattala. The latter made a 5.60 metres in her fifth attempt but Herath pipped her to the second place with a leap of 5.73 metres in the final attempt.
On Sunday she further improved her profile with a feat of 11.77 metres in the triple jump.
Nirmali Wickramasinghe of Wickramabahu MV, Gampola added herself to the list of emerging 800 metres runners with a 2:14.45 seconds finish.
The two-day athletics event was the first competition for athletes in the youth category since 2019.
Sri Lanka Athletics conducted the two-day event as a precursor to next year’s Youth Selection Trial for Asian Youth Athletics Championship.
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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