Sports
Chaminda Vaas

– A role model par excellence
By Hemaka Amarasuriya
When David Sakar, a professional bowling coach and a state player in Sheffield Shield for Victoria of the past decades, who could not quite make it to his national side, decamped at the 11th hour from Sri Lanka’s tour to West Indies, the team was left high and dry. As the team was without a bowling coach, veteran Chaminda Vaas, who has represtned the country in over 100 Test matches, was co -opted to fill the role hurriedly, sans any negotiations.
Chaminda is the best left-arm pace bowler of our times with 761 internatioanl wickets to his name and easily the most successful fast bowler the country has produced. Having ended his playing career with an exemplary record of achievements and discipline, he is an ideal role model for our youth. Since retirement, his services have been highly sought after as he had worked with the New Zealand cricket team as a Consultant Fast Bowling Coach.
Perhaps his boyhood desire to join the clergy may have served the community and himself better than to b e a professional cricketer, vilified in the twilight of an outstanding career for no fault of his own, other than what he stood for.
I see this as a principled decision to turn down an offer on behalf of all our home born coaches. Just because you are emerging from our own national grid should our coaches monetary value be only 37 percent of those who are employed from overseas? I do not agree with that.
I appeal to our cricket authorities to treat our home grown coaches with the same value proposition and respect as an overseas coach. If they do not see the writing on the wall, strongly emerging countries such as Ireland and USA with the best expertise and investment behind them will soon oust us from the top ten.
(This writer is a former Chairman of Sri Lanka Cricket. He was also the Chairman of Singer for several years and generously sponsored the national cricket team in 1990s when support for the game was few and rare. Singer were sponsors when Sri Lanka won the ICC Cricket World Cup in 1996. It was also during Amarasuriya’s tenure as country’s cricket chief, Sri Lanka successfully conducted their first ever global sports event – the inaugural ICC Champions Trophy in 2002.)
Sports
Track and field action from Diyagama

The Track and Field season commenced with some of the best athletes in the senior and Under 20 age categories producing notable performances during the two-day Junior and Senior Selection Trial concluded at Diyagama on Tuesday. Here are some action pictures from the day two of the event.
(Pix by Kamal Wanniarachchi)
Sports
Dharshana’s false start dampen an otherwise remarkable day

by Reemus Fernando
Sprinter Aruna Dharshana gave athletics fans both joy and heartache on an otherwise remarkable day as the Junior and Senior Track and Field trials concluded with a number of athletes achieving their personal bests at Diyagama yesterday.
Athletics analysts were waiting for Dharshana to reach his personal best in the men’s 400 metres final after the Army athlete produced the best performance in the heats where as many as five athletes clocked sub 47 seconds. When Dharshana followed up his 200 metres winning time of 21.12 seconds with a feat of 46.43 seconds in the 400 metres many expected him to produce a sub 46 seconds performance in the final.
But the shocking foul start meant that he will have to wait for more than a month to test his true potential. Incidentally, Kalinga Kumarage, who was off-colour in the heats (47.51 secs – second in heat 3) won the final with a feat of 46.27 seconds. However, 100 metres sprinter Medhani Jayamanne who was disqualified for a foul start in the women’s 100 metres heats was not so unlucky, as athletics officials gave her an opportunity to compete in the women’s 100 metres final, though her place was (2nd) not recognised. She clocked 12.16 seconds in the final.

Chamod Yodasinghe reached his personal best to win the men’s 100 metres.
In Dharshana’s absence four others, namely, Kumarage, R.N. Rajakaruna, Dinuka Deshan and Pabasara Niku clocked sub 47 seconds.
In the corresponding women’s 400 metres, schoolgirl Tharushi Karunaratne continued to shock her senior counterparts. Having won the women’s 800 metres on day one, the Ratnayake Central prodigy also bagged the 400 metres victory as she clocked 53.41 seconds to beat Asian Championship participant Nadeesha Ramanayake.
- Aruna Dharshana, who produced the fastest time in the heats was disqualified in the final for a foul start. Dharshana is disappointed after official Rohan Stanley showed him the red card. (Pix by Kamal Wanniarachchi)
- Rumeshika Ratnayake won the women’s 100 metres.
In the men’s 100 metres Chamod Yodasinghe reached his personal best as he clocked 10.37 seconds to win the final.
In the women’s 100 metres final, Rumeshika Ratnayake clocked 12.01 seconds to win running against the wind (-2.9). In the heats, she clocked sub 12 seconds.
In the morning, Gayanthika Abeyratne finished the women’s 1500 metres just three seconds shy of her national record mark as she clocked 4:12.53 seconds to win closely followed by steeplechase national record holder Nilani Ratnayake. Abeyratne’s national record established last year stands at 4:09.12 seconds.
In the Under 20 age category events Malith Yasiru produced the second-best performance of the Asian region in the Under 20 boys’ triple jump this year when he cleared a distance of 15.43 metres to win the event.
Sports
Sri Lankan sailing teams compete in Pakistan

The Sri Lankan national team of two sailors and one windsurfer, with the Navy team of a sailor and a windsurfer, were invited to participate at the first Chief of Navy Staff International Sailing Regatta 2023 held from March 14 to 20 in Karachi, Pakistan. Twelve countries including Australia, Bahrain, Croatia, Egypt, China, Kazakhstan, Malaysia, Oman, Singapore, Thailand and Turkey had sent their teams to Karachi. The Sri Lankan national team consisted of Laser Standard sailor (ILCA 7) NGMU Ghanawardene, Sri Lanka Navy, Priyantha Gunawardene, Sri Lanka Navy participating in the Windsurfing RSX Class and Laser 4.7 (ILCA 4) sailor Tharen Nanayakkara. The Navy team consisted of Laser Standard sailor (ILCA 7) JMPL Jayasuriya, Sri Lanka Navy and WAS Weeratunge, Sri Lanka Navy participating in the Windsurfing RSX Class.
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