Sports
Yupun, Gayanthika set to commence track and field campaign
Commonwealth Games 2022
by Remus Fernando
Sprinter Yupun Abeykoon and 800 metres runner Gayanthika Abeyratne will commence Sri Lanka’s track and field campaign at the Birmingham Commonwealth Games when they compete in their respective heats today.
Abeykoon, who became the first South Asian to run the 100 metres dash below 10 seconds when he clocked 9.96 seconds in early July, is the first Sri Lankan featuring in the men’s 100 metres of Commonwealth Games since 2010 Delhi Games.
After Shehan Ambepitiya competed in the men’s 100 metres at the Delhi Games, no Sri Lankan sprinter has featured in the most sorted after track event at these games.
Speaking to his fans following his record breaking feat in July, Abeykoon revealed that competing in the men’s 100 metres final of the Commonwealth Games was one of his targets for the season.
The 27-year-old is the fastest athlete in Asia this year based on his 9.96 feat and he will be brushing shoulders against some of the best athletes in the world with a strong Caribbean presence expected in this discipline.
The former Joseph Vaz College, Wennappuwa sprinter will also be aiming to better his recent World Championship performances. At the World Championships in Oregon, Abeykoon was eliminated in the heats after being placed fifth in heat three where he clocked 10.19 seconds.
Gayanthik will compete in the women’s 800 metres heats with the hope of qualifying for the next stage. With some of the power houses of middle distance running fielding athletes for these disciplines she will have a tough competition qualifying for the next round.
At the last edition, she competed against the likes of Caster Semenya, the eventual champion and was eliminated in the heats. She returned a time of 2:04.72 seconds at the Gold Coast event. But when she competes in Birmingham she is a different athlete. She has three national records under her belt with a personal best of 2:01.44 seconds from March in her pet event this year. At the World Championships in Oregon, the athlete trained by Sajith Jayalal returned a time of 2:02.35 seconds, Sri Lanka’s second fastest performance ever in this discipline.
Sri Lanka is represented by six track and field athletes at the Commonwealth Games. The others are long jumper Sarangi Silva, steeplechase athlete Nilani Ratnayake, javelin thrower Sumedha Ranasinghe and 400 metres specialist Kalinga Kumarage.
Track and field is one of the four sports to have won Sri Lanka gold medals at these games though it has not tasted medal success during the last two decades. The gold medal was won by Duncan White at the 1950 games. Sriyani Kulawansa in the women’s 100 metres hurdles (Silver- in 1998) and Sugath Thilakaratne in the men’s 400 metres (bronze in 1998) are the only other track and field athletes to have won medals at these games.
Pakistan will play Sri Lanka in the Women’s Asia Cup semi-final on Friday after they secured a thumping win over Hong Kong in the final Group A contest. They finished second in their group with a 72-run win set up by a record-breaking spell of 6 for 7 from Nashra Sandhu and a resolute 35-ball 47 from Shawaal Zulfiqar.
Pakistan scored 143 for 8 after electing to bat first for the third time in as many matches, with Ayessha Zafar and captain Fatima Sana making valuable contributions of 26 off 19 and run-a-ball 24, respectively, before an excellent display of bowling saw Hong Kong fold for 71 in 19 overs.
Zulfiqar lives up to expectations
Zulfiqar made a thumping comeback to the T20I side last month in Sri Lanka and it made Pakistan persist with her at the top of the order despite the return of experienced Gull Feroza, who slid down to one-down. She could not build on a start against India with the wickets tumbling from the other end and the pressure mounting. But the right-hander fought through on Monday, despite the dismissals of experienced batters around her in Muneeba Ali (6 off 7) and Feroza (3 off 4).
Despite batting on a challenging surface that played slow and gripped, Zulfiqar timed the ball well as she struck six boundaries. She hit a few sparkling cover drives and stitched a sparkling partnership of 47 off 34 with Zafar before the latter fell in the 10th over. No Pakistan batter, barring Zafar and Fatima, was able to emulate the 21-year-old in an innings which saw only four batters post in the double digits.
Zulfqar was eventually outsmarted b Joyleen Kaur as she smashed a flighted ball outside off right back to the bowler to be caught and bowled in the 12th over. Pakistan seemed well in control until she was at the crease, but could add only 51 runs in 8.4 overs after her dismissal.
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Pakistan Women 143 for 8 in 20 overs (Shawaal Zulfiqar 47, Ayesha Zafar 26; Fatima Sana 14; Iqra Sathar 2-27, Kary Chan 2-33, Joyleen Kaur 4-19) beat Hong Kong Women 71/10 in 19 overs (Yasmin Daswai 13, Kary Chan 30, Joyleen Kaur 10; Fatima Sana 1-07, Sadia Iqbal 1-08, Um e Sabi1 1-21 Nashra Sandhu 6-07, ) by 72 runs
The Indian Naval Ship (INS) Udaygiri arrived at the Port of Colombo on an official visit today, 8 September 2026, where it was received by the Sri Lanka Navy in accordance with time-
honoured naval traditions.
INS Udaygiri is a 149.02m long Frigate, Commanded by Captain Vikas Sood. Meanwhile, the Commanding Officer of the visiting ship is scheduled to call on Commander Western Naval
Area, Rear Admiral Harsha De Silva at the Western Naval Command Headquarters.
Captain Sood served as the Defence Adviser at the Indian High Commission in Sri Lanka from July 2020 to October 2023.
During their stay in the island, the crew of INS Udaygiri will participate in several goodwill events organized by the Sri Lanka Navy to enhance camaraderie between the two forces.
The visiting personnel are also scheduled to visit prominent tourist and cultural locations across the island.
Additionally, Sri Lanka Navy personnel are expected to visit the ship for capability observation and knowledge sharing, and will conduct onboard training during its stay.
Sri Lanka’s women continue to provide compelling evidence that they could be genuine contenders for the next World Cup, while their male counterparts have, in recent years, largely been making up the numbers at global events.
The defending Asia Cup champions, who stunned formidable India in Dambulla two years ago to lift the title, marched into this year’s semi-finals with an unbeaten record.
Sri Lanka topped their group with three wins from three games and importantly, will avoid India in the semi-finals. Their opponents in Friday’s knockout clash will be either Pakistan or Thailand.
For years, Sri Lanka have leaned heavily on their talismanic captain Chamari Athapaththu, one of the greats of the women’s game. More recently, however, others have begun putting their hands up when the skipper has fallen cheaply. That growing depth has also given Chamari greater freedom to play her natural, attacking game.
Last week, Nilakshika de Silva produced a rescue act against Indonesia. On Sunday, after the captain fell to only her second ball, it was the turn of vice-captain Harshitha Samarawickrama to take charge and steer Sri Lanka home through choppy waters.
Chasing 115 to win their final group game against Bangladesh at Dubai Sports City, Sri Lanka were quickly in trouble as seamer Marufa Akter sent both openers packing cheaply. With wickets continuing to tumble at the other end, Harshitha kept her head while others were losing theirs.
At 44 for five, with half the side back in the pavilion, Sri Lanka were staring down the barrel. Harshitha and Nilakshika then began the repair job, adding 38 for the sixth wicket to drag the innings back from the brink.
Marufa has been an outstanding find for Bangladesh and they rely heavily on her for breakthroughs. With one over remaining in her quota, she was summoned back to break the partnership and did precisely that, removing a well set Nilakshika as she attempted to improvise.
There was, however, no stopping Harshitha.
She found a reliable ally in wicketkeeper Kaushini Nuthyangana and the pair calmly took Sri Lanka across the line with an unbroken 33 run stand for the seventh wicket. Harshitha finished unbeaten on 38 off 47 balls, striking four fours and two sixes.
Sri Lanka got home with four balls to spare, maintaining their perfect record in the competition. Yet beneath the celebrations there will be a nagging concern: the batting has collapsed too often, leaving one or two players with far too much heavy lifting to do. That is something they will need to address before the stakes rise further.
Sri Lanka will play the second semi-final on Friday, with the final scheduled for Sunday.
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