Sports
Dialog Axiata congratulates the historic win for Sri Lanka sports
The official sponsor of the National Paralympic team for over two decades, Dialog Axiata PLC, congratulated the extraordinary achievement accomplished by gold medallist and new javelin F46 world record holder Dinesh Priyantha Herath and bronze medallist, Samitha Dulan Kodithuwakku for their unparalleled achievements at the Tokyo 2020 Paralympic Games.
Dinesh Priyantha Herath made history in the morning hours of Monday the 30th of August 2021, when he secured Sri Lanka’s first ever Gold at the 2020 Paralympic Games in Tokyo, Japan, while his team mate Samitha Dulan Kodithuwakku, a short while later secured Bronze on a personal best distance of 65.61 meters in the F64 javelin event.
Dinesh Priyantha Herath, who is also the captain of the nine member Sri Lankan contingent entered the game’s record books by establishing a new world record throw of 67.79 meters in the men’s javelin F46 event.
Commenting on his record-breaking win, Dinesh Priyantha Herath said, “my main target was to set a new world record and win a gold medal for my country. It took years of dedication and I am extremely happy to have achieved these accomplishments. Following the injuries I suffered in 2008 while serving my country, it took four years of rehabilitation, after which I started Javelin in 2012. I would like to thank my family, my team, and everyone who supported me on my journey towards this victory.”
Speaking on this momentous occasion, Hon. Namal Rajapaksa MP – Minister of Youth & Sports said, “It was a defining moment for our nation when the Sri Lankan national anthem echoed across the arena as Dinesh Herath won this historic Gold for our country. We are incredibly proud of his achievement. I would also like to commend the National Paralympics Committee for enabling these athletes to achieve greatness at a global platform, their commitment and dedication to the program has been exceptional. Combined with the efforts of the Department of Sports Development, the Ministry of Youth & Sports & the National Sports Council’s high-performance program the Paralympic committee has set the bar for all other sporting bodies in Sri Lanka. I would also like to thank Dialog Axiata for their unwavering support towards the National Paralympic team for over two decades and for showing us all how empowering sports can truly transform lives.”
Col. Deepal Herath, President of the National Paralympic Committee said, “We are incredibly proud of Dinesh Herath for making Sri Lanka continuously proud over the years and Samitha Kodithuwakku for his personal best throw at the 2020 Tokyo Para Games. It is a testament to the contingent working as one team to achieve this Herculean goal. We are immensely thankful to Dialog for their unwavering support extended since the year 2000, believing in our athletes and empowering their unparalleled achievements through the years”.
Maj. Gen. JR Ampemohotti, the Chef de Mission of the Sri Lanka contingent said, “Sri Lankan Paralympians have performed admirably and have brought glory to their country by winning consecutive medals at the 2020 Tokyo Paralympic Games. Despite restrictions to training due to the COVID-19 pandemic the team has worked hard to do what it takes to climb the podium and we are incredibly proud of their achievements.”
Commenting on this milestone achievement, Supun Weerasinghe, Group Chief Executive of Dialog Axiata PLC said, “the historic win by Dinesh and Samitha is a testament to all Sri Lankans on what can be achieved with dedication, perseverance and discipline. Dialog Axiata is proud to have been part of this historic journey with the National Paralympic Committee and Army Para Games for the last two decades. We remain committed to nurturing Sri Lanka’s Champions of tomorrow to reach the pinnacle and bring glory to our motherland.”
Dialog Axiata is the proud sponsor of Sri Lanka’s National Cricket, Rugby, Volleyball and Netball teams. The Company also has a close association with the President’s Gold Cup Volleyball, National Junior and Senior Netball tourneys, Club Rugby, Schools Rugby, Premier Football, Schools’ Cricket, Junior Volleyball and Paralympic sports – whilst also powering the Army Para Games, National Para Games and the Sri Lanka contingent to the World Paralympic Games.
USA’s Ryan Crouser threw 23.56m* to improve his own world shot put record at the USATF Los Angeles Grand Prix, this season’s sixth World Athletics Continental Tour Gold meeting, on Saturday (27).
That mark adds 19cm to the previous world record of 23.37m that Crouser recorded at the US Olympic Trials in Eugene in June 2021.
The world record had looked under threat when the world and Olympic champion opened his series with 23.23m. He went even farther in round two, throwing 23.31m and edging closer to the barrier at the back of the throws area.
After a third-round throw of 22.94m, Crouser took to the circle for his fourth attempt and launched the implement 23.56m, raising his arms and clapping when the distance was confirmed.
He completed a sensational series with 22.80m in the fifth round and 22.86m in the sixth.
(World Athletics)
Mahendra Singh Dhoni wouldn’t mind a ‘Farewell to Remember’ but a young Shubman Gill, oozing grace, would do everything under his control to prevent Chennai Super Kings from beating Gujarat Titans to its fifth IPL title, in Ahmedabad on Sunday.
Nearly 19 summers back when a young Dhoni was making his first strides in India blue, a four-year-old Gill was taking stance on a vast farmland in Punjab’s Fazilka village on Pakistan border, with a handmade customised bat, prepared by his doting grandfather.
On Sunday, at the 1,32,000-seater Narendra Modi Stadium, the soon-to-be 42 Dhoni will have one last assignment in his favourite Canary Yellow jersey – to stop Indian cricket’s megastar-in-waiting and do a ‘High Five’.
Three hundreds and 851 runs don’t happen every season but on a batting belter at the Motera, what will be Dhoni’s strategy to rein in the ‘Mohali Marauder’?
Will it be Deepak Chahar’s swing or Ravindra Jadeja’s wicket-to-wicket bowling? Or will it be Moeen Ali, who could be the ‘Joker in the Pack’ with his enticing flighted deliveries outside the off-stump which could sharply break back. Can Matheesha Pathirana bowl some incisive toe-crushers?
A technically near-perfect batter against a captain known for thinking out of the box. It can’t get more exciting than this.
His die-hard fans might expect him to come back again next year but even Dhoni, who has played the entire season with a heavily strapped left knee might find it extremely difficult to keep up with the demands of the shortest format.
So for every ‘Thala’ (elder brother in Tamil) fan, it’s all about savoring the Dhoni moments till it lasts. In this CSK set-up, he could afford to bat at No. 8 in most games but entering the finals with a bowling line-up that missed Deepak Chahar for the better part of first half and had to turn a profligate Tushar Deshpande into a dependable wicket-taker.
Turning an inconsistent Shivam Dube into a six-hitting bully or overseeing the return of Ravindra Jadeja, the T20 bowler, the legend of Dhoni will never cease to exist. It will only grow and his captaincy stories will also be burnished with coats of myth decades down the line.
They say familiarity breeds contempt but contempt would be the last word in Dhoni and CSK’s mind when they face Hardik Padya’s Titans.
The CSK logo features a “Roaring Lion” but they would take the team from Land of Gir Forest lightly at their own peril.
After 73 games, the two of the most consistent teams are pitted against each other in the summit clash.
No team has emulated the structural and team building ethos of Chennai Super Kings as minutely as Gujarat Titans, another team, where cricketing decisions are based on sound logic, consistency and no interference from overbearing owners.
There is a skipper in Pandya, who believes that there is only one way to lead the team. It’s called ‘The Mahi Way’.
Batters win matches but bowlers win tournaments is an old saying and it couldn’t be more apt when one tracks Titans’ performance.
Mohammed Shami (28 wickets), Rashid Khan (27 wickets) and Mohit Sharma (24 wickets) have executed plans more often than not and thus it hasn’t really effected the Titans that second highest run-scorer after Gill’s 851 runs is skipper Hardik Pandya (325), who is more than 500 runs behind.
Wriddhiman Saha, a keeper-par-excellence, woukd consider himself lucky, that team management never thought of replacing him despite a strike-rate of 127 opening the batting and only one fifty plus score in 16 knocks.
And herein, Dhoni would try to seize the opportunity. If they can get Gill out early, none of the other batters have shown wherewithal to fight hard and bowlers would need a decent total on board.
Under Dhoni, if players like Ajinkya Rahane (299 runs in 13 matches, two fifties) and Shivam Dube have found their groove this season, young bowlers such as Sri Lanka’s Matheesha Pathirana (17 wickets in 15 matches) and India’s uncapped Tushar Deshpande (21 wickets in 15 matches) have also been able to find their feet at the IPL stage.
In CSK’s batting line-up, Devon Conway (625 runs in 15 matches, six fifties) and Ruturaj Gaikwad (564 runs in 15 matches, four fifties) have time and again provided CSK with resolute starts at the top.
The big-hitting Dube (386 runs in 15 matches, three fifties) is the second joint-highest six-hitter for CSK in this IPL with 33 sixes, joined by Gill in the list.
There are no clear favourites and it could be one of the finest finals in history of IPL.
Teams (from):
Gujarat Titans:
Hardik Pandya (c), Shubman Gill, David Miller, Abhinav Manohar, Sai Sudharsan, Wriddhiman Saha, Matthew Wade, Rashid Khan, Rahul Tewatia, Vijay Shankar, Mohammed Shami, Alzarri Joseph, Yash Dayal, Pradeep Sangwan, Darshan Nalkande, Jayant Yadav, R. Sai Kishore, Noor Ahmad, Dasun Shanaka, Odean Smith, KS Bharat, Shivam Mavi, Urvil Patel, Joshua Little and Mohit Sharma.
Chennai Super Kings:
Mahendra Singh Dhoni (c&wk), Devon Conway, Ruturaj Gaikwad, Ambati Rayudu, Moeen Ali, Ravindra Jadeja, Ajinkya Rahane, Sisanda Magala, Shivam Dube, Dwaine Pretorius, Ajay Mandal, Nishant Sindhu, Rajvardhan Hangargekar, Mitchell Santner, Subhranshu Senapati, Simarjeet Singh, Matheesha Pathirana, Mahesh Theekshana, Bhagath Verma, Prashant Solanki, Shaikh Rasheed, Tushar Deshpande.
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