Sports
Anjalika is back with a bang after a break for studies
by A Special Sports Correspondent
Young tennis sensation Anjalika Kurera has returned to tennis with a bang after a break for studies and bagged two major women’s open singles titles thus far.
She is one of those players who knows where she is going, has a plan and works her plan. Stopping to complete her GCE O’ Levels was intentional because she is hell-bent on balancing both studies and sport. And she agrees it was hard to comeback after the layoff because she had little practice and hardly any time for physical training.
She beat two of the most competitive players in the women’s circuit Neyara Weerawansa in the Colombo Championships and Janali Manamperi in the ongoing Nationals. “It was really hard for me to win because all the players are playing well,” said Anjalika in an interview with The Island.
She is modest, humble and values her beginnings and the people who helped her in her tennis journey; where she aims at playing in the Wimbledon and becoming world number one hopefully. These are her thoughts and she is willing to work hard because tennis is a demanding sport where talent needs to be supplemented with financial backing if one aspires to reach great heights.
She hails from Negombo and was first coached by one Pahirathan before receiving input from several other reputed coaches. Sudantha Soysa, Sylvester Francis, Renuk Wijemanna, Barathi Pillai, her school tennis teacher Miss Pushpa Perera and Niranjan Casichetty, as her present coach, have contributed immensely towards her tennis achievements.
Away from the tennis court’s hustle and bustle and excitement there is another source of strength where she draws inspiration and strength from. As a devout Christian she also spends time in prayer and said “I’m small made, but God has given me the talent to play tennis”.
She is a member in a closely knit family and receives the backing from her mom, dad, sister and brother. But she has chosen an individual sport and that makes it harder for her to keep playing and pursue more glory. Her commitment for the sport is such that she travels daily to Colombo from Negombo for training. That could be because she knows that the tennis hub is in Colombo and she has to be rooted in the island’s business capital where sports and other exciting and money spinning activities take place.
Tennis is an expensive sport and it would be lovely if a sponsor comes her way and boosts her career like it happens in other parts of the tennis world. According to Anjalika there have been occasions where financial constraints have come in the way of her participating at ‘women’s future tournaments’.
All this has been achieved by age 17. And the demands of the game have perhaps had a toll on her thus far. She said she has a troubling back injury at present, but she managed to overcome all the challenges in the present tournament she is competing in. Perhaps every player will encounter a back injury sometime during his/her career and it seems Anjalika has faced it rather prematurely. Looking on the bright side of it such injuries teach valuable lessons and make you a better player; example Wasim Akram in cricket. The good news for her is that she is quite young hence with proper conditioning of the back muscle and strength training she could have complete recovery of the injury.
She has contested many overseas tournaments as a national player. Anjalika was ranked 575 in the world among under 18 girls by the ITF in 2019. She hopes to play in ITF tournaments lined up for the coming year.
She needs guidance, exposure and to maintain her will to become the top contender at all future tournaments here in Sri Lanka. No challenge at a tournament played here in Sri Lanka is complete without the participation of Anika Senewiratne. “I love playing against Anika because she is so talented. She is the toughest player to beat from the ones around and I managed to overcome her in past tournaments at the Colombo Championships and Nationals,” said Anjalika.
She praises her school Ave Maria Convent in Negombo, its Principal Sister Shirmila Jayawardena, teachers and her best friends for the constant support and encouragement extended to her during her career in tennis.
She said that she constantly judges herself because she wants to make improvements. And most importantly she believes in the fact that she was born to play tennis and has the talent to pursue the sport. She concluded by saying “I love tennis. Tennis is my life”.
Former Sri Lanka cricketer D. S. de Silva has passed away in London on Monday following a brief illness. He was 83.
A stalwart from the game’s formative years in the island, de Silva was part of Sri Lanka’s XI for their inaugural Test in 1982 against England. A year later, with injuries sidelining Duleep Mendis and Roy Dias, de Silva was handed the captaincy for the tour of New Zealand, a late call-up that came after he had already crossed his 40th birthday.
A classical leg-spinner with a cultured approach, de Silva was a familiar name in Ceylon colours long before Test status arrived, operating tirelessly in an era when opportunities were few and recognition scarcer still.
He featured in both the 1975 and 1979 World Cups, back when Sri Lanka were still associate members, and played a decisive role in the famous upset of India in the 1979 tournament, claiming three wickets in a win that proved a watershed moment on the road to Test recognition.
De Silva was also among the rare professionals of his generation, having plied his trade in English league cricket, broadening his horizons at a time when overseas exposure for Sri Lankans was the exception rather than the norm.
After hanging up his boots, de Silva continued to serve the game as a selector and coach, leaving his imprint on the next generation. He coached Sri Lanka to the Under-19 World Cup final, nurturing young talent with the same patience he once showed at the crease and at the bowling mark.
He later moved into administration, heading Sri Lanka Cricket from 2009 to 2011 as chairman of the Interim Committee. During his tenure, the Hambantota and Pallekele International Cricket Stadiums were built ahead of the 2011 World Cup, which Sri Lanka co-hosted.
De Silva’s passing marks the end of an era, as one of the quiet architects of Sri Lanka’s rise in world cricket finally leaves the field.
The second edition of the National Short Track Athletics Championships will be held at the 200 metres track of the Sugathadasa Stadium on January 3, 2026.
The event scheduled for a 1.00 pm start is limited to a few track and field events generally held at indoor stadiums.
It will be the first track and field event of the year and will be held when Sri Lanka Athletics is governed under a convening committee.
Sri Lanka Athletics is without an elected body after Sports Ministry’s attempt to conduct the election of office bearers under new sports regulation ended up in a fauxpass.
Now the Sports Ministry is scheduled to conduct a Special General Meeting next week where an Election Committee will be reappointed to hold the election of office bearers.
The short track meet will be held under the observation of the convening committee.
The events to be held at the meet are (Men & Women) 60m, 400m, 800m, 1500m, 3000m, 60m, Hurdles, High Jump, Long Jump, TripleJump and Shot Put.
The 60m, 60m Hurdles and 400m events will be held as heats and finals, where the best times will qualify for the finals.
Other track events will be held as time finals (Final A/ Final B).
All the field events will have only 3+1 rounds.
(RF)
Australian allrounder Cameron Green has been bought by Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) for INR 25.20 crore ($2.8 million approx.), making him the third-most expensive player sold at an IPL auction, and the most expensive overseas player ever.
KKR also bought the second-most expensive player at the IPL 2026 auction – Sri Lankan fast bowler Matheesha Pathirana for INR 18 crore ($1.97 million approx.).
The record for the most expensive uncapped Indian player was also broken, with 20-year-old left-arm spin allrounder Prashant Neer and 19-year-old wicketkeeper Kartik Sharma going to Chennai Super Kings (CSK) for a staggering INR 14.2 crore each, breaking Avesh Khan’s INR 10 crore mark in the 2022 auction. Jammu and Kashmir fast bowler Auqib Nabi also had a big payday, with Delhi Capitals buying him for INR 8.4 crore.
KKR, who began the auction with the largest purse of INR 64.3 crore, had to stave off competition for Green from CSK, who had the second-highest purse of INR 43.4 crore. The bidding, though, began with Mumbai Indians (MI), who had to drop out of the race quickly because they had a purse of only INR 2.75 crore. Rajasthan Royals (RR), who had a purse of INR 16.05 crore, took the bid as far as INR 13.40 crore before exiting, at which point CSK joined the bidding against KKR.
Green’s bid took more than ten minutes to complete, and he ranks behind Rishabh Pant (INR 27 crore) and Shreyas Iyer (INR 26.75 crore) on the list of most expensive IPL players. The most expensive overseas players before Green were Mitchell Starc (INR 24.75 crore) and Pat Cummins (INR 20.50 crore). Green, however, will get only INR 18 crore due to a maximum salary cap imposed by the IPL on overseas players at mini-auctions. The bid amount in excess of INR 18 crore (INR 7.2 crore) will go to the BCCI for player welfare.
Green first played the IPL in 2023, when MI bought him for INR 17.5 crore. He scored 452 runs at a strike rate of 160.28, and picked up six wickets. MI then traded Green to RCB a year later for the same price. He scored 255 runs for RCB at a strike rate of 143.25, and took ten wickets. Green did not register for the mega auction ahead of IPL 2025 because he was returning from a back injury.
Green was one of only two players sold from the first set of batters on Tuesday, along with South Africa batter David Miller, who went to Delhi Capitals (DC) at his base price of INR 2 crore. Jake-Fraser McGurk, Prithvi Shaw, Devon Conway and Sarfaraz Khan were unsold.
The lukewarm bidding continued into the second set of allrounders, with only two of seven players sold. Lucknow Super Giants (LSG) bought Sri Lanka’s Wanidu Hasaranga at his base price of INR 2 crore. Venkat Iyer, who had been bought by KKR for INR 23.75 crore in the IPL 2025 auction, was sold to Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB) for INR 7 crore. Liam Livingstone, Rachin Ravindra, Gus Atkinson, Wiaan Mulder and Deepak Hooda were unsold in the first set of allrounders.
There was more action in the first set of wicketkeepers, with MI buying South Africa’s Quinton de Kock, DC buying England’s Ben Duckett, and KKR buying New Zealand’s Finn Allen – all at their base prices. CSK, who began the auction with the second-largest purse, did not buy a player from the first three sets.
CSK did not bid for Pathirana, who they had released at a price of INR 13 crore after IPL 2025. The demand for Pathirana began with DC and LSG, and once the bid reached INR 15.6 crore, DC dropped out considering they had a purse of INR 17.8 crore. KKR entered the bidding and priced out LSG, who had a purse of INR 20.95 crore, at INR 18 crore. Having missed out on Pathirana, LSG immediately bought South African quick Anrich Nortje at his base price of INR 2 crore.
RCB’s second buy at the auction was New Zealand fast bowler Jacob Duffy (INR 2 crore), who could slot in as back-up for Josh Hazlewood.
CSK did bid for legspinner Ravi Bishnoi, but stopped once the price reached INR 6 crore. RR and SRH then bid for Bishnoi, and he was eventually bought by RR for INR 7.2 crore. Akeal Hosein, the West Indies left-arm spinner, was eventually CSK’s first buy at the auction, at his base price of INR 2 crore.
Only 12 out of 40 players in the first six sets were sold.
Players bought at auction
KKR : Cameron Green, Finn Allen, Matheesha Pathirana, Tejasvi Dahiya, Kartik Tyagi
LSG: Wanindu Hasaranga, Anrich Nortje, Mukul Choudhary, Naman Tiwari
DC: David Miller, Ben Duckett, Auqib Nabi
RCB:Venkatesh Iyer, Jacob Duffy
MI:Quinton de Kock
RR:Ravi Bishnoi, Sushant Mishra, Yash Raj Punja, Vignesh Puthur
CSK:Akeal Hosein, Kartik Sharma, Prashant Veer
GT:Ashok Sharma
PBKS:
SRH: Shivang Kumar
(Cricinfo)
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