Sports
Avishka on Sri Lanka Under-19 prospects
by Reemus Fernando
Sri Lanka Under 19 squad comprising 26 players concluded a three weeks long training camp on Wednesday. It was the first training opportunity for junior cricketers after the Covid 19 pandemic hampered sports for more than a year.
Sri Lanka Under-19 will meet their Bangladesh counterparts this month before encountering England in November. The squad of 26 players will continue to train for the ICC Youth World Cup which will be held early next year.
The Island interviewed the Under 19 head coach Avishka Gunawardene after the training camp conducted in a biosecure bubble concluded. Here are the excerpts.
Unlike many previous Under-19 coaches you had only a month to train the team for a series against Bangladesh and will get only a couple of months to prepare them for the ICC Youth World Cup. How do you see the challenge at hand and how has the training gone so far?
“I am very happy with the way the team improved during the last couple of weeks and everyone was happy about the way the camp was held. It is a big challenge. Because the players haven’t played any cricket for some time. The Under-19 boys are playing international cricket at least after 18 months. It is challenging because we had only a month to prepare and we have to get the combinations right. We are playing (Bangladesh) to win the series but that is where we will be trying two or three combinations to get them right. For the World Cup, there may be around 100 days to prepare. There is another Under-19 tour planned for November which is England. Asia Cup is in December but it is not confirmed. If that does not happen we will have to get the combinations right during the England tour before the World Cup. That is the only chance we have to get it right.”
When an Under-19 coach is selected he has a general idea of the talent pool that will come under his supervision. But with no schools tournaments conducted due to Covid 19 pandemic, you may not have had an idea about the players before you started to work with them. Can you explain how you cope up with that?
“I have experience in the system. I have been in the system for a very long time. I first went on a tour as a schoolboy in 1992. Since then I have not left the system and I have not left cricket. During my previous tenure, when I was with SLC, I was with the Under-19 team in 2015 and 2016 and we made it to the semi-finals in the World Cup. It is not new to me. But because of the pandemic, there is a challenge. By the time I took over the Under 19, there was a pool of 26 picked by the national selectors. The selectors had a camp in Kandy for 75 players. They had played matches and I am sure the national selectors would have seen them. During the last month, we had a camp and it was a good opportunity for me to get to know how talented they are. And I think that I have a good idea about the players now and what their capabilities are. The challenge I have now is to get the players to play together and jell together because they have not been playing together.
The selectors had included several players from new Division I team Devapathiraja College Rathgama who generally play on matting wickets and Malsha Tharupathi a player from Division III school- Madampa Central. What are your thoughts on them?
The most exciting was the 16-year-old spinner(Tharupathi). This is the first time that he actually bowled on a turf wicket. What I saw in the last few weeks is how he improved, how confident he is. I am very excited to see him. He can play in another World Cup. You don’t find 16-year-old right-arm leg spinners very often. I am pretty excited about him and there is Jeewaka Shasheen (from Devapathiraja) who looks very good. He has a lovely technique and a nice temperament. He is another guy who I will keep an eye on for the future.
How did the young boys got accustomed to living in a biosecure bubble for more than three weeks?
“It was the first time that I too went into a bubble after I took over. It was all about keeping the players occupied, keeping their minds free, letting them enjoy each other’s company. If you don’t do that it is very difficult to survive in a bubble. It is important to keep them together, keep their friendship going, keep them entertained. We had programmes arranged in the evenings like quiz programmes and in-house games and stuff like that. I am very happy how the training camp went and they adjusted pretty well.”
You will get only limited-overs matches during both the Bangladesh and England series. Isn’t it a concern as the players will not be able to compete in the innings format?
“I firmly believe that younger players should play the longer version of cricket more to improve their skills. But at this point, they haven’t had any cricket to play. Since there had been no cricket in the country and since there is a World Cup in less than 100 days I think it is relevant (that we play limited-overs cricket). Basically, the players will have only ten matches before they go for the World Cup. In terms of preparation for the World Cup, it is important to play white-ball cricket.
Not many fast bowlers who excel at the junior level have not gone on to represent Sri Lanka at the senior level. But in Matheesha Pathirana, you have a speedster who has experience playing franchise cricket before even making it to the senior national level. How do you see his future prospects?
“It is interesting. Although he has played one franchise tournament and played in the last World Cup, he has played very little cricket during the last six to seven months. It is important for him to keep his rhythm. He is unorthodox and is an exciting talent. He can bowl fast. With all that he needs to have match practice. That is the most important thing that we are looking at. He has been improving from the time we started the camp. I hope he will show more improvement as we get closer to the World Cup and he will be a good asset there.
The fast bowling department has been the weak link of many junior teams when Youth World Cups were played in conditions supporting quick bowlers. How confident are you of your fast bowling department?
“I am very happy with the fast bowling unit we have in the Under-19 squad. One of the plus points is that there are two or three fast bowlers who can bat well. They are not only giving fast bowling options but add value to the team by coming down the order and adding runs. I hope we can peak them at the right time and go on to play the next level.
Since the team is likely to play only in local conditions before the World Cup how are you going to prepare the team for the challenges in West Indies?
“I have been to the Caribbean a few times. The last time was in 2018. When I was the head coach of the ‘A’ team we went there. From my experience, it is not very different from Sri Lankan conditions. The weather is pretty much similar. And wickets are also quite similar to Sri Lankan conditions. It might actually help spinners from my experience. But they might prepare better wickets since it is a World Cup and an ICC event. I am not, too much worried about West Indies’ conditions.
There was a feeling of deja vu on the first day of action at the World Athletics Indoor Championships Nanjing 25.
Three of the gold medallists – 60m winner Jeremiah Azu, triple jump champion Andy Diaz Hernandez, and pentathlon gold medallist Saga Vanninen – stood atop a major podium for the second time this month, having struck gold at the recent European Indoor Championships two weeks ago.
The two other winners today, shot put champion Sarah Mitton and high jump victor Woo Sanghyeok, collected their second world indoor titles, having won in previous editions.
Diaz Hernandez was the first winner of the day, taking triple jump gold with a world-leading 17.80m to break his own outright Italian record.
Another jumps gold was decided in the evening session as Woo regained the title he first won in 2022, beating Olympic champion Hamish Kerr with a winning leap of 2.31m.
A high-quality shot put tussle resulted in Mitton retaining her crown with 20.48m. The pentathlon reached its conclusion at a similar time as Vanninen landed gold with 4821.
The evening session drew to a close with the men’s 60m final as Azu held off a strong challenge from Australia’s Lachlan Kennedy to take gold by 0.01 in 6.49.
[World Athletics]
Boxing heavyweight legend George Foreman has died aged 76, according to his family.
Known as Big George in the ring, the American built one of the most remarkable and enduring careers in the sport, winning Olympic gold in 1968 and claiming the world heavyweight title twice, 21 years apart – the second making him the oldest champion in history aged 45.
He lost his first title to Muhammad Ali in their famous Rumble in the Jungle fight in 1974. But Foreman’s professional boxing career boasted an astonishing total of 76 wins including 68 knockouts, almost double that of Ali.
He retired from the sport in 1997 but not before he agreed to put his name to a best-selling grill – a decision that went on to bring him fortunes that dwarfed his boxing earnings.
His family said in a post on Instagram on Friday night: “Our hearts are broken.
“A devout preacher, a devoted husband, a loving father, and a proud grand and great grandfather, he lived a life marked by unwavering faith, humility, and purpose.”
The statement added: “A humanitarian, an Olympian, and two time heavyweight champion of the world, He was deeply respected – a force for good, a man of discipline, conviction, and a protector of his legacy, fighting tirelessly to preserve his good name – for his family.”
Foreman was born in Marshall, Texas, on 10 January 1949, and raised along with six siblings by a single mother in the segregated American South.
He dropped out of school and turned to street robberies before eventually finding his outlet in the ring.
Foreman won the heavyweight gold medal at the 1968 Olympics in Mexico City, aged 19, before turning pro and winning 37 consecutive matches. He lost only five bouts over his career.
He beat previously undefeated reigning champion Joe Frazier in Kingston, Jamaica, in 1973 knocking him down six times in the first two rounds.
His 1974 Rumble in the Jungle against Ali in Kinshasa, Zaire, now the Democratic Republic of the Congo, remains one of the most famous boxing matches ever.
Ali, the older man, was the underdog after he was stripped of his crown seven years earlier for refusing to be drafted into the Vietnam War.
Foreman reflected on the legendary fight 50 years later in an October interview with BBC World Service Newshour, explaining that everyone thought he was going to decimate Ali.
“Oh, he’s not going to last one round,” the boxer said experts were predicting at the time.
Foreman told the BBC he typically would get “real nervous” and have “butterflies” before any boxing match, but that night – it was the “most comfortable” he had felt.
But the wily Ali used a tactic that later became known as “rope-a-dope”, which wore out Foreman, causing him to throw out hundreds of punches before Ali unloaded on him in the eighth round and scored a knockout.
After a second professional loss, Foreman retired in 1977 and became an ordained minister at the Church of the Lord Jesus Christ in Texas, which he founded and built.
He told the BBC his defeat to Ali became the “best thing that ever happened to me” as it ultimately led him to “get my message out” through preaching.
He recalled that his preaching started small, on street corners and with friends, then grew.
“We began meeting informally at various homes in Houston, and before long, the crowds became too large for most houses to accommodate,” Foreman said on his website.
“Eventually, we bought a piece of land and an old, dilapidated building on the north-east side of Houston.”
Foreman came out of retirement in 1987 to raise money for a youth centre he founded. He won 24 matches before losing to Evander Holyfield after 12 rounds in 1991.
In 1994, Foreman knocked out undefeated Michael Moorer to become the oldest ever heavyweight champion at age 45.
He became ad pitchman for his George Foreman Grill, which millions have purchased since it hit the market in 1994, thanks in part to his memorable catchphrase, the “Lean Mean Grilling Machine”.
Foreman was married five times. He has a dozen children, including five sons who are all named George.
He explained on his website that he named them after himself so they “they would always have something in common”.
“I say to them, ‘If one of us goes up, then we all go up together,” he explained. “And if one goes down, we all go down together!'”
[BBC]
World Indoor Championship
Sprinter Chamod Yodasinghe reached the semi-finals of the 60 metres dash with a remarkable sprint performance on day one of the World Indoor Athletics Championship in Nanjing China on Friday.
Competing in heat two the athlete trained by Sanjeewa Weerakkody clocked a blistering time of 6.70 seconds shared by USA’s Coby Hilton and Switzerland’s William Reais. The trio were separated by photofinish with Coby Hilton, William Reais and Yodasinghe given first, second and third places respectively.
In the semi-finals which was worked off in the afternoon, Yodasinghe finished last.
Yodasinghe’s heat performance was ranked 24th among a field of 58 athletes who faced starter’s orders in eight heats.
His impressive achievement was a massive consolation for Sri Lanka after 400 metres specialist Kalinga Kumarage missed his heat due to a technical issue. Secretary of Sri Lanka Athletics said that Kumarage could not collect his accreditation in time to take part in the heat. He was scheduled to compete in the fifth heat which was won by Canada’s Morales Williams (45.85secs). Only two qualified from that heat. While the second placed Jacory Paterson of USA clocked 45.94 seconds others failed to finish under 47 seconds.
Sri Lanka’s contingent of 12 athletes is the biggest by the country to a World Indoor Athletics Championship. While Yodasinghe, Kumarage and Kaveesha Bandara compete in individual events, others will take part in the men’s and women’s 4×400 metres relay finals.
Former Royal College Colombo hurdler Bandara will compete in the 60 metres hurdles today (Saturday).
The men’s and women’s 4×400 metres relays will take place on Sunday.
In the morning, the championships’ first gold medal was won by Italy’s Andy Diaz Hernandez who soared to a world lead and national record of 17.80m in the men’s triple jump.
That feat moved him to fifth on the world indoor all-time list, the mark is the third-farthest leap in World Indoor Championships history and the farthest since the 17.90m – then a world indoor record – achieved by Teddy Tamgho at the 2010 edition in Doha
Three years after taking gold in Belgrade, Woo Sanghyeok won his second world indoor high jump title. The Korean was the only athlete to go clear at 2.31m, doing so on his first try. Defending champion and Olympic gold medallist Hamish Kerr was second with 2.28m, taking silver on countback ahead of Jamaica’s Raymond Richards.
by Reemus Fernando
Recent history repeats for first five gold medallists at WIC Nanjing 25
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