Sports

Bertie Ekanayake – The versatile Sports Personality of the Royal Ceylon Air Force

Published

5 years ago

2021/05/13

Flight Sergeant Bertie Ekanayake (Clk GD) is considered as one of the finest sportsmen ever to be produced by the Royal Ceylon Air Force (RCyAF). Ekanayake was an old boy of Zahira College Colombo. He represented Ceylon in Boxing from 1958 to 1964 and represented Defence Services in rugger, boxing, basketball and soccer. He represented the RCyAF in rugger, boxing, basketball, soccer, athletics, cricket and hockey.

Bertie Ekanayake was a key member of the RCyAF Boxing team which won the prestigious Xavier Roche Memorial Challenge Shield presented by the ABA Ceylon to the Most Successful Boxing Club of the year in 1961.

He represented Ceylon in Boxing from 1958 to 1964. He was the Fly Weight Champion of Sri Lanka in 1958, 1959 and 1960, Feather Weight Champion of Sri Lanka in 1961 and 1963, Feather Weight Champion of Pakistan in 1963, Defence Services Champion in 1958, 1959, 1961, 1962 and 1964. He was the undisputed RCyAF Champion from 1958 to 1963 and the only winner at the Ceylon Vs Pakistan contest held in Ceylon in 1961 (Pakistan won 6 – 1). Ekanayake toured with the National Boxing Team to India, Thailand and Pakistan and captained the National Boxing team at the First Asian Boxing Championship in Bangkok in 1963. He was selected to represent the country at the Rome Olympics in 1960, however an injury prevented him from attending.

In rugby, he excelled as a fine full back and represented the Air Force from 1959 to 1973. He represented Defence Services from 1959 to 1962, 1965 and 1968. He was a key member of the RCyAF team which became runners up of Clifford Cup championship in 1965. He was selected for Ceylon Trials in 1961 and 1965 and represented Colombo Clubs vs. Presidents XV. Bertie Ekanayake functioned as the Assistant Manager of the Ceylon Rugger team in 1972. In basketball, he represented Combined Services team at the All-India tournament in 1962.

Flight Sergeant Ekanayake was the first winner of the prestigious ‘Varatharasa Trophy’ in 1962, which recognizes the Best Sportsman of the year in the RCyAF. He won the award again in 1963.

by Air Cdre Padman De Costa

(Former Secretary Air Force Sports Council and Defence Service Sports Board)

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Feroza, Amin, Sandhu shine as Pakistan go 1-0 up against Sri Lanka

Published

9 hours ago

2026/07/23

Priyan

Gull Feroza scored her fourth successive ODI half-century in Pakistan's win over Sri Lanka

Half-centuries from Gull Feroza and Sidra Amin helped Pakistan start their tour of Sri Lanka on a winning note. After restricting Sri Lanka to 210 for 9, thanks to Nashra Sandhu’s 3 for 42, Pakistan got home with five wickets and seven overs to spare in the first woman’s ODI in Hambantota.

Vishmi Gunaratne, reunited with captain chamari Athapaththu at the top of the order, helped Sri Lanka lay a solid foundation after they opted to bat. The hosts raced to 31 without loss in the first five overs. Gunaratne and Athapaththu soon brought up their fifth fifty-run partnership in ODIs, the most by an opening pair for Sri Lanka.

Once spin came on, the scoring slowed down. Gunaratne was the first to depart when she became Sandhu’s first victim. Athapaththu and Hasini Perera then added 53 for the second wicket before the Sri Lanka captain was bowled by Sandhu. Pakistan applied the squeeze when Sri Lanka were 109 for 2 in the 24th over. The only notable stand for Sri Lanka thereon was between Nilakshika Silva and Kavisha Dilhari, who added 42 for the fifth wicket. But Sri Lanka’s final surge never came and they lost 5 for 32 in the last seven overs to be restricted to a below-par total.

Pakistan hardly broke a sweat in their chase. Feroza struck her fourth successive ODI half-century. She was rapid in the first powerplay, and was the aggressor in the 58-run opening partnership with Sadar Shamas. Feroza then added 90 for the second wicket with Amin, who batted steadily. Feroza eventually fell for a breezy 77-ball 78 while Amin scored 57 off 94 before being dismissed, with victory in sight.

The win was Pakistan’s fifth consecutive ODI win, which put them second on the ICC Women’s Championship points table.

Scores:

Pakistan Women 211 for 5 in 43 overs (Gull Feroza 78, Sidra Amin 57; Kavisha Dilhari 2-37) beat Sri Lanka Women 210 for 9 in 50 overs (Nilakshika Silva 46, Chamari Athapaththu 46; Nashra Sandhu 3-42, Tasmia Rubab 2-34) by five wickets

(CRICINFO)

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Taskin Ahmed withdraws from LPL to prepare for Australia tour

Published

15 hours ago

2026/07/23

Priyan

Taskin was supposed to play for Jaffna Kings [Cricbuzz]

Bangladesh pacer Taskin Ahmed said on Wednesday (July 22) that he has withdrawn from the Lanka Premier League (LPL) to prepare for the upcoming Test tour of Australia. Taskin, who arrived in Dhaka with the team from Zimbabwe, was supposed to head to Sri Lanka due to play for Jaffna Kings in the tournament.

Bangladesh are scheduled to depart in August for the all-important Australia tour where they will play a two-Test series down under for the first time since 2003.

Taskin had initially obtained a No Objection Certificate (NOC) from the Bangladesh Cricket Board (BCB) to feature in the tournament and was expected to skip the T20I series against Zimbabwe. However, he stayed back in Zimbabwe for the series after Mustafizur Rahman was ruled out due to injury.

“Yeah, I had withdrawn myself from LPL and it is mainly for Australia Test series preparation,” Taskin told Cricbuzz. “We played six back-to-back matches in Zimbabwe, maybe I would have got four matches there (in LPL). After my stint there (in LPL) if I return home and immediately go to Australia my Test match preparation would be hampered,” he said.

“Despite a little loss I thought it’s okay as Australia series won’t come around often.That’s why I took the decision and so I pulled out from the LPL even after having the NOC,” he added.

The Bangladesh team management are also waiting anxiously on Nahid Rana after he sustained a left side strain during the second T20I against Zimbabwe. The young fast bowler was unable to complete his spell. Rana, who arrived earlier in the day, will undergo scans to determine the extent of the injury.

Meanwhile, left-arm pacer Shoriful Islam is undergoing rehabilitation after suffering a hamstring injury during the Zimbabwe tour. If his rehabilitation progresses as planned, he will be in contention for the opening Test as a standard recovery period for such an injury is around three weeks.

The two Test matches, part of the ongoing World Test Championship cycle, will be played in Darwin (August 13-17) and Mackay (August 22-26).

[Cricbuzzz]

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Sri Lanka edge Qatar in Davis Cup opener

Published

20 hours ago

2026/07/23

Priyan

Thehan Wijemanne ( Pix by Kamal Wanniarachchi)

Hosts Sri Lanka made a winning start to their Davis Cup Asia/Oceania Group IV campaign, edging out Qatar 2-1 in a closely contested opening-day tie at the Sri Lanka Tennis Association courts in Colombo on Wednesday.

The visitors struck first when Mubarak Alharrasi defeated Sri Lanka’s Apna Perera 6-3, 4-6, 6-2 in a hard-fought opening singles encounter, giving Qatar an early 1-0 lead.

Sri Lanka bounced back in the second singles as Thehan Wijemanne produced a spirited comeback to overcome Mossa Alharrasi 3-6, 6-4, 6-4. After dropping the opening set, Wijemanne showed great composure to win the next two sets and level the tie at 1-1.

The decisive doubles match proved to be a tense affair, with Apna Perera returning to partner Saha Kapilasena. The Sri Lankan duo held their nerve in two tie-breaks to defeat Jabar Al Mutawan and Mossa Alharrasi 7-6, 7-6, sealing the tie 2-1 for the hosts.

Sri Lanka’s ability to recover from the opening singles defeat highlighted the team’s resilience as Wijemanne’s comeback victory and the doubles pair’s clutch performance ensured a successful start to their campaign. The hosts will now look to build on the opening-day victory as they continue their quest for promotion in the Asia/Oceania Group IV competition.