Sports
A hurdles showdown to brighten the day
By Reemus Fernando
Schools athlete Tharushi Karunaratne who shone brightly at the last meet and the men’s 400 metres specialist Kalinga Kumarage will not be in action but a showdown between current and former national record holders in the men’s 110 metres hurdles namely, Janindu Lakvijaya and Roshan Ranatunga is likely to brighten the day when the selection trial for three major track and field events takes place at Diyagama today.
Ratnayake Central, Walala runner Karunaratne who stunned national record holder Gayanthika Abeyratne in the women’s 800 metres at the first selection trial has pulled out from the competition due to sickness and Kumarage too has been granted an exemption to skip today’s vital selection according to Sri Lanka Athletics sources.
The teams for the postponed Asian Games, Senior Asian Athletics Championships and Junior Asian Athletics Championships will be selected from the athletes who excel in this meet.
Lakvijaya had little competition when he shattered Roshan Ranatunga’s national record in the men’s 110 metres hurdles at the last trial. Ranatunga did not feature at the last trial but will be in action today. An exciting competition is on the cards when history’s two fastest Sri Lankan hurdlers compete shoulder to shoulder. The two athletes are the only hurdlers to have clocked legal sub 14 seconds.
However, the possibility of one of them making it to the Asian Games depends entirely on their ability to produce another Sri Lanka National record performance. Sri Lanka Athletics has set 13.48 seconds as the selection standard for the discipline.
In the men’s 400 metres, Aruna Dharshana will have the company of Pabasara Niku to strive for success in the sprint event without Kumarage. The selection standard set for the event is 45.70 seconds.
South Asian Games medallist Dilshi Kumarasinghe is expected to make a return in the women’s 800 metres, while Gayanthika Abeyratne is expected to compete in the 1,500 metres.
Steeplechase national record holder Nilani Ratnayake is expected to do well in her pet event after producing a feat of 9:40.65 seconds at the meet held in March.
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.
Typhoon Noul makes landfall in China, with hundreds of thousands evacuated
Colombo Kaps down Dambulla Sixers by 21 runs
Kandy Royals win by 11 runs
Showers will occur in the Western, Sabaragamuwa and North-western provinces and in Galle, Matara, Kandy and Nuwara-Eliya districts
Govt. launches EPF, ETF shake-up
SLPI concerned over the proposed Chartered Institute of Media Professionals of Sri Lanka
‘Dates have the highest sugar content to fight Coronavirus’
Sunday Island 27 December – Headlines
#SundayIsland 17th December – Headlines
Sunday Island – 28th March
Sunday Island Headlines – 21 March
Sunday Island – 21st February – Headlines
-
Midweek Review4 days agoThree high-profile alleged suicides shaping key investigations
-
News1 day agoFort Magistrate orders arrest of MP Archchuna
-
Editorial1 day agoAn indictment of all parties
-
News4 days agoCustoms asked to resume probe or face legal action
-
Editorial5 days ago
Welcome bid to tackle rolling death traps
-
Opinion2 days agoUkraine’s power struggle spills on to the streets
-
News1 day agoNational-level cybersecurity facility Lab established
-
News6 days agoMerchant Shipping Secretariat probes bribery scandal