Sports
Amarasinghe, Yakoob eye glory in Thailand
Among many sports Sri Lankans have made their international appearances, Mixed Martial Arts (MMA) is not something the local fans are that much familiar with.
However, two Sri Lankan fighting sensations, Malinda ‘Boyka’ Amarasinghe and Ajmal ‘Yaka’ Yakoob are set to make history when they take to the ring in Bangkok, Thailand today at the Thailand Fighting Championship (TFC 5).
Amarasinghe, who hails from Kurunegala, will take on the former ONE Championship fighter Rockie Bactol in the feature event of the competition which includes a card of five fights, including the showdown between Yakoob and seasoned campaigner Simon Stracey.
The two fighters have won a number of events locally, including national championships in multiple combat sport disciplines. Amarasinghe is a national level gold medallist in Wushu and full contact karateka while Yakoob trained in Dubai under top coaches and fighters in the game. Yakoob is also a winner at the Muay Thai Asian Games selection tournament in 2018.
Familiar rivals in the past, but friends at present, both Amarasinghe and Yakoob are determined to excel in their respective fights despite the tough status of their opponents.
Hailing from the Philippines, Bactol is riding high on a two-fight winning streak and will be looking to continue the same when he steps into the main event of TFC 5. Fighting out of Fight Soul, Amarasinghe, on the other hand, has the opportunity to produce a huge upset and fly the Sri Lankan flag high at the Asian MMA circuit for the very first time.
“My opponent Bactol is a former ONE champion and they are way ahead of us when it comes to experience and standards. Our fight is also the feature event in TFC 5 and I am honoured to take part in the main event of such a big event which has a huge following among martial arts lovers in the region. I am determined to raise the Sri Lanka flag at the event with a win and after that I am also going to take part in the next ONE Championship,” Amarasinghe said.
Yakoob is also determined to bring honour to the country.
“When we go and fight the way we fight matters. It doesn’t matter if you lose or win, but how you fight it matters. Because if we fight bad, that’s not good for the country. So it has to carry the quality. The quality is very important and the standard is very important. Basically, when we fight, when we represent Sri Lanka, then people get to know that there are Sri Lankan MMA fighters. Definitely we will open the door for the other people as well. The new generation who are willing to come and fight and compete. So I’ll be fighting in more events and I will be fighting at the ONE Championship as well, very soon,” Yakoob said prior to their departure for Thailand.
Mumbai Indians (MI) secured the last remaining IPL 2025 playoffs spot thanks to a late onslaught from Suryakumar Yadav and Naman Dhir followed by crafty three-fors from Mitchell Santner and Jasprit Bumrah. Delhi Capitals, led by Faf du Plessis with regular captain Axar Patel ruled out by flu, were knocked out of contention. Having won each of their first four matches of the season, they have won just two of their next nine.
Put in to bat on a spin-friendly Wankhede Stadium pitch with rain on the cards, MI were in some trouble at 132 for 5 but Suryakumar and Dhir smacked 48 runs off the last two overs to lift them to 180.
DC’s chase never got going with Faf du Plessis and KL Rahul falling cheaply. A comeback seemed to be on the cards, with Sameer Rizvi and Ashutosh Sharma putting on 38 as a drizzle began, but Santner ensured that it wasn’t to be.
MI’s innings started with Rohit Sharma and Ryan Rickelton punishing full balls in the first two overs before Mustafizur Rahman’s angle away from Rohit’s bat found the edge when he tried to drive him.
Vipraj Nigam brought on in the fourth over, found turn but was pulled for two fours by Will Jacks when he dropped short. Jacks hit a four and a six in the next over, off Mustafizur, before Mukesh Kumar undid him by going pace-off in the sixth over, and Nigam completed the job with a good catch running back. MI finished the powerplay 54 for 2.
Suryakumar survived a top-edged sweep that landed safely behind short fine leg but Rickelton was less fortunate next ball as he toed his slog-sweep to deep backward square leg to hand Kuldeep Yadav his 100th IPL wicket.
Nigam mixed up his lengths and created two near-chances in the tenth over while Kuldeep bowled consistently and kept the batters quiet. DC gave away just 26 runs in the first four post-powerplay overs, leaving MI 80 for 3 at the halfway mark.
The return of pace helped MI release some pressure, with Tilak Varma lapping Dushmantha Chameera for six in the 11th over and Suryakumar stepping out to drive Mustafizur over mid-off for another maximum in the 14th. In between, though, Nigam and Kuldeep conceded just nine in two overs.
Suryakumar pulled Mukesh for four to start the 15th over, but Tilak fell four balls later, too early into a pull off a slower ball. When Hardik sliced a lofted drive to short third off Chameera in the 17th, MI were 123 for 5.
Suryakumar brought up a 36-ball fifty at the start of the 19th over, launching Mukesh over the covers for six. Then Dhir let loose, going 4, 6, 6, 4 to end a 27-run over, as Mukesh, suffering from cramps, missed three yorkers and then offered room when he went into the pitch.
The onslaught continued in the final over where Suryakumar dined on Chameera’s pace-on offerings. This time, he farmed the strike and whacked two sixes over deep midwicket and two fours through the off side to finish on a high. A highlight was a dab off a near-perfect yorker that rolled wide of the keeper for four. Suryakumar scored 28 off the last eight balls of his innings, while Dhir walked off unbeaten on 24 off eight.
Suryakumar’s unbeaten 73, meanwhile, was his 13th successive 25-plus score in T20s, a joint record alongside Temba Bavuma.
KL Rahul and du Plessis, DC’s most experienced batters, made their intent clear by putting away the first balls they faced to the boundary. But their attack was shortlived as du Plessis holed out to long-on off a slower ball from Deepak Chahar and Rahul – who charged early and made too much room – was caught behind off Trent Boult.
Will Jacks spun his first ball square and then got one to go straight, beating Abishek Porel to have him stumped, a close call that went in the bowler’s favour. Jacks then bowled a no-ball, which allowed the promoted Nigam to get off the mark with a six over cover.
Nigam hit three more fours in his next four balls, but with DC 49 for 3 at the end of the powerplay with all four of Bumrah’s overs remaining, MI were well ahead.
Santner capitalised on MI’s start and the conditions, ripping the ball away from Nigam’s bat before firing the next one in quicker to have him caught and bowled. Bumrah then got an offcutter to beat Tristan Stubbs’ inside edge to reduce DC to 65 for 5 in the tenth over.
DC seemed all but done when a drizzle began and eased things up a bit. Ashutosh whacked loopy deliveres from Karn Sharma for a four and a six in the 11th over, and Rizvi picked up another four in between when Jacks ran too in too far from long-off and overran the ball.
Santner then beat Ashutosh and almost had Rizvi caught and bowled but the batters survived, and DC kept chipping away, going past 100 in the 14th over. Their task was still steep, though: 78 off the last six overs.
With the drizzle in the background, Santner darted a full ball at Rizvi before slowing the pace down to 77kph to beat his sweep and hit middle stump. The game was effectively over three balls later when Santner had Ashutosh stumped. It was a juicy length ball angling in towards the stumps that spun away a mile and beat the inside-out drive.
Santner’s three-for came at the cost of just 11 runs in four overs, the joint-fewest conceded by a spinner in an IPL match at Wankhede. Bumrah and Karn then cleaned up the tail, helping MI qualify for the playoffs for the 11th time in 18 seasons.
Brief scores:
Mumbai Indians 180 for 5 in 20 overs (Suryakumar Yadav 73*, Tilak Varma 27, Ryan Rickelton 25, Will Jacks 21, Naman Dhir 24*, Mukesh Kumar 2-48, Dushmantha Chameera 1-54, Mustafizur Rahman 1-30, Kuldeep Yadav 1-22) beat Delhi Capitals 121 in 18.2 overs (KL Rahul 11, Sameer Rizvi 39, Vipraj Nigam 20, Ashutosh Sharma 18; Trent Boult 1-29, Deepak Chahar 1-22, Will Jacks 1-16, Mitchell Santner 3-11, Jasprit Bumrah 3-12, Karn Sharma 1-31)by 59 runs
[Cricinfo]
Sprinter Aruna Dharshana, whose participation at the upcoming Asian Athletics Championship was in doubt due to an injury, proved his fitness for next week’s event with an impressive performance at the fitness test conducted in Colombo on Wednesday.
Dharshana completed 300 metres in a time of 33.41 seconds at the Sugathadasa Stadium to the satisfaction of track and field authorities.
Sri Lanka Athletics announced Dharshana’s effort as ‘successful’ after the 26-year-old completed the test. That will make him eligible for his pet event the 400 metres and the two relay events, the men’s 4×400 metres and the 4×400 metres mixed relay.
He had to prove his fitness for the event in South Korea following an injury he sustained at the recently held World Relays in China.
Dharshana was a key member of the team that established a new championship record in winning the men’s 4×400 metres relay at the last edition. He was also part of the team that won silver in the mixed relay.
The Asian Championship is vital for all track and field athletes as it opens a valuable opportunity to improve their world rankings and earn qualifying standards for the World Championships which will be held in Tokyo, Japan later this year.
by Reemus Fernando
Gateway College proudly celebrates the achievement of nine outstanding students who have been selected to represent Sri Lanka in three major sporting disciplines – football, squash and athletics. This remarkable milestone highlights the school’s commitment to holistic education, where excellence is pursued both inside and outside the classroom.
Gateway encourages every student to discover and nurture their talents with the support of expert coaches, modern facilities and a school culture that values discipline, passion, and perseverance. These international selections are a reflection of that vision in action.
In football, Gateway remains the only international school competing in Division 1 of the All-Island Schools’ Football League. Three talented players — Aidan Francis Perera, Nadal Aaron Senapala, and Anuk Shahil Dassanayake — have been chosen to represent Sri Lanka at the SAFF U19 Football Championship in India.
In squash, Gateway continues its proud tradition of producing national-level players. Five students have qualified to compete at the Asian Junior Individual Squash Championships in South Korea: Taveesha Goonasekera (Girls U13), Manuth Dassanayake and Dillon Perukanda (Boys U15), and Sithumli Mendis and Chanumi Thebuwanna (Girls U15).
On the track, Shanuka Costa flew the Sri Lankan flag at the Asian Youth Athletics Championship in Saudi Arabia. He finished fourth in the Medley Relay and reached the semi-finals in the 400m — a performance that speaks volumes about his potential and dedication.
These young athletes are not only ambassadors of Gateway but also of Sri Lanka. Their achievements stand as a testament to what is possible when talent meets opportunity. Gateway College congratulates them all and wishes them continued success as they take their next steps on the global stage.
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