Sports
Dilshi, Amasha, Kalinga among half a dozen to reach tough elite standard
98th National Athletics Championship – Review
by Reemus Fernando
With Sri Lanka Athletics announcing qualifying standards in advance to select several pools targeting international events, the 98th National Athletics Championship, which concluded on Tuesday, witnessed a number of athletes pushing their limits to produce outstanding performances. Despite being hampered by the absence of preparation meets including the trial meets which were abandoned in the eleventh hour due to the outbreak of the Covid 19 pandemic, several athletes inspired the rest to be resolute even in adversity.
Sprinter Amasha de Silva and middle distance runner Dilshi Kumarasinghe who announced their arrival at the Asian Junior Championships in 2018 as future prospects, not only cemented their positions as formidable senior contenders at this meet but also provided hope of earning top Asian rankings.
Both turned tables on senior campaigners. Amasha the athlete trained by Sanjeewa Weerakkody clocked an outstanding 11.55 seconds to win the 100 metres dash. It was hailed as one of the top 100 metres performances in history by a female athlete. The outstanding feat secured the former Swarnamali Balika sprinter a place in the Sri Lanka Athletics elite pool as she overpowered former champion Rumeshika Ratnayake.
Dilshi Kumarasinghe surprised the veterans Nimali Liyanarachchi and Gayanthika Abeyratne during the last 200 metres of the 800 metres final. With her outstanding feat she not only secured her a place in the elite pool but also pushed the two veterans out of their comfort zones to achieve the qualifying marks to enter the elite pool. The 2:0280 seconds effort was outstanding in many ways. It improved her personal best and got her almost closer to the national record held by Liyanarachchi and powered her to the second position in the Asian Rankings. However, the former Ratnayake Central, Walala athlete did not do justice to her true potential in the 400 metres pushing hard a bit too late.
A feat of 53.47 seconds to win the women’s 400 metres was a welcome sign as Nadeesha Ramanayake, who was making a return after being sidelined at the South Asian Games due to dengue fever, retained her title. Kumarasinghe clocked 53.81 seconds to settle for silver. But had she given her best, it would have stood in good stead for Ramanayake too as a closer competition would have pushed them to the elite pool. The qualifying standard for the elite pool in the 400 metres was 53.20 seconds.
Sprinter Kalinga Kumarage who was returning to track after two years following a Disciplinary Committee clearing him of doping, clocked a wind-assisted 20.79 seconds to win the men’s 200 metres. His 400 metres performance of 46.25 seconds secured him the place in the elite pool.
While men’s long jumpers struggled competing against the wind, South Asian Games gold medalist Sarangi Silva touched the elite qualifying mark clearing a championship record distance of 6.33 metres in the women’s long jump.
Gayanthika Abeyratne was well within the range of the standard set for elite athletes when she clocked 4:17.58 seconds to win the women’s 1500 metres.
Triple jumpers Hashini Balasooriya (13.07 metres in the women’s event) and Sanjaya Jayasinghe (16.32 m) and Sreshan Dananjaya (16.12m in the men’s event) were outstanding but fell just short of securing a place in the elite pool. So was Olympian Sumeda Ranasinghe who had a notable 76.10 metres which was better than his South Asian Games bronze winning feat.
Ireshani Rajasinghe (13.85 secs) clinched the national title winning the 100 metres hurdles against defending champion Lakshika Sugandi (13.89 secs). Both were notable performances for athletes returning to action after one year.
A majority of athletes returning for their first meet in a year found it hard to match the elite standard. Even Nilani Ratnayake, who has a high world ranking, eligible to secure a place in the Olympics, could not reach the elite selection timing finishing her pet event the 3000 metres steeplechase (in 10:15.86 seconds) some 15 seconds slower.
One could feel sorry for Rusiru Chathuranga who was left at the threshold of the qualifying mark of the elite pool with his 1:49.82 seconds effort in the men’s 800 metres. With other leading runners including National record holder Indunil Herath failing to get even to the national pool mark (1:51.50 secs) the Asian Championship participant Chathuranga’s effort must be commended.
Sprinter Himasha Eshan’s 10.27 seconds in the 100 metres had assistance from wind.
It would augur well for athletes if the Athletics authorities could reconsider the standard for elite pool before finalizing it.
In the fifth T20I in Pakistan’s tour of New Zealand last year, the hosts had been dismissed for 92 chasing 135 in Christchurch. In the first T20I of this five-match series, that was a winning total for New Zealand after Kyle Jamieson and Jacob Duffy took apart a new-look Pakistan side.
The dropping of Babar Azam and Mohammad Rizwan signalled that Pakistan were trying to step out of their comfort zone in T20 cricket, which is broadly very good. But on Sunday, they saw the risks that also come with it as they were bundled out for 91, their lowest total in New Zealand and their fifth-lowest in the format.
The Black Caps followed the WhiteFerns in bringing up comprehensive victories on a double-header day in Christchurch as Jamieson and Duffy shared seven wickets between them, the bounce they were able to generate being too much for the Pakistan batters.
Jamieson, back in the T20I set up for the first time in nearly two years, set the tone for New Zealand with a wicket maiden, Mohammad Haris only able to help a short ball behind to wicketkeeper Mitch Hay.
Debutant Hasan Nawaz then got a leading edge off Duffy to Jamieson at deep third as Pakistan lost both openers without a run on the board. This was only the second time both Pakistan openers were dismissed for ducks.
Jamieson then had Irfan Khan edging behind in the third over as Pakistan slumped to 1 for 3 – their lowest score at the fall of the third wicket.
Tim Robinson then evoked rather fresh memories of Glenn Phillips from the Champions Trophy as he took a blinder at backward point to give Jamieson his third, with the scoreboard reading 11 for 4.
Pakistan were restricted to 14 for 4 in the powerplay, and it could have gotten worse immediately afterwards, but Tim Seifert dropped Khushdil Shah at point off the captain Michael Bracewell.
Agha then looked to drive a full ball from Zakary Foulkes the next over, only to get an edge but Daryl Mitchell shelled the chance in the slip cordon.
Agha and Khushdil used their second lives to arrest Pakistan’s free-fall. They finally looked to up the tempo in the tenth over, when Agha reverse-swept Ish Sodhi for four behind point and Khushdil smacked him over midwicket for Pakistan’s first six.
In the next over, Khushdil took Bracewell on for back-to-back sixes to try and put some pressure back on the bowlers. But it was a very short-lived phase of ascendancy for Pakistan.
Agha tried another reverse-sweep off Sodhi’s next ball, but he could only pick out deep backward point. Duffy was brought back into the attack for an over, and the move paid dividends as Khushdil slapped a short ball to backward point. Pakistan were 64 for 6 after 13.
Debutant Abdul Samad and Jahandad Khan then fell trying to play big shots before Duffy returned in the penultimate over to take the last two wickets, picking up from where he left off in the T20I series against Sri Lanka where he finished as the highest wicket-taker
Pakistan’s 91 is the fourth-lowest T20I score by any team in New Zealand.
After playing out the first over, Seifert got New Zealand going with a pull through midwicket off debutant Mohammad Ali. He then picked up three boundaries off Shaheen Afridi’s next over, including another pull in front of square.
Seifert gave the charge to Ali to pick up another boundary, before getting two off Jahandad’s first over, and the fifth of the innings. Finn Allen, largely a spectator until then, also joined the party as he lofted Jahandad down the ground for the first six of the chase.
Pakistan switched to spin and Seifert welcomed Abrar Ahmed with a massive hit over long-off. Abrar got the better of him with a carrom ball that Haris did well to hold on to behind the stumps off the bottom edge, but New Zealand by then had effectively won the match in the two powerplays.
Allen hit another six and two fours, while Robinson also got a six to his name as New Zealand completed the chase just one ball after the halfway mark of the innings.
Brief scores:
New Zealand 92 for 1 in 10.1 overs (Tim Seifert 44, Finn Allen 29*, Tim Robinson 18*; Abrar Ahmed 1-15) beat Pakistan 91 in 18.4 overs (Salman Agha 18, Khushdil Shah 32, Jahandad Khan 17; Jacob Duffy 4-14, Kyle Jamieson 3-8, Zakarie Foulkes 1-11, Ish Sodhi 2-27) by nine wickets
[Cricinfo]
At the recently concluded International Schools Athletic Championship (ISAC), Lyceum International School Wattala emerged as champions. However, during the competition, a protest was lodged, alleging that one of Lyceum Wattala’s athletes was on the payroll of the Sri Lanka Army and, therefore, ineligible to participate in ISAC. Following an inquiry, the athlete was disqualified, and the points he had earned were deducted from the school’s total. By that time, he had already won gold medals in the Long Jump, Triple Jump, and 4x100m relay.
Lyceum Wattala has built a reputation for excelling in sports, but many attribute this success to its large-scale recruitment of athletes through scholarships. Notably, the two champion athletes of this year’s ISAC had previously represented other schools. Further inquiries have now revealed that another athlete, who competed for Lyceum Wattala at ISAC 2025 and secured the Under-20 Champion title by winning the 400m, 110m hurdles, and 4x400m relay, is also on the payroll of the Sri Lanka Army.
Unethical practices of this nature create an unhealthy competitive environment and discourage underprivileged schools, which struggle to retain their talent. Lyceum is not the only international school offering scholarships to top athletes; other international schools have also followed suit. One such leading institution, known for its strong academic results, has extended its scholarship program to sports, aggressively recruiting high-achieving students from other schools.
This school has reportedly granted scholarships to several students and even gone as far as providing free textbooks, exam fees, and opportunities for foreign travel.
Rather than nurturing homegrown talent, these international schools seem more focused on acquiring ready-made athletes from other institutions. The era of developing skilled players appears to be fading, as these schools increasingly prioritize assembling teams over fostering individual talents.
Strong all-round performances fromSuzie Bates and Brooke Halliday along with a breakout bowling display from Bree Illing helped New Zealand breeze to a seven wicket win against Sri Lanka in Christchurch to level the series at 1-1.
New Zealand’s bowlers set the tone with a frugal display after winning the toss and electing to bowl, restricting Sri Lanka to 113 for 7 in their 20 overs before Bates and Halliday made 47 and 46 not out respectively as the hosts cruised home with seven wickets and nine balls to spare. Bates was named player of the match after also bowling four overs for just 16 runs while Halliday also took 1 for 12 with the ball in addition to posting her highest T20I score.
Illing made use of the early morning start picking up a wicket in the opening over and a second in the seventh as she bowled straight with the new ball to finish with figures of 2 for 18 in just her second T20I after going wicketless in her debut in game one of the series on Friday
Sri Lanka skipper Chamari Athapaththu was well held as Eden Carson, Jess Kerr and Bates were rotated at the other end with the latter bowling a maiden to Athapaththu in her first over. The scoreboard pressure told when Kerr castled her for 23 off 29 in the following over, the ninth of the innings, with Sri Lanka stalled at 3 for 46.
That soon became 4 for 53 when debutant Flora Devonshire picked up a wicket in her first over in international cricket.
Sri Lanka steadied thanks to a 54-run stand between Manudi Nanayakkara and Nilakshika Silva. Nanyakkara made 35 from 32 with four boundaries while Silva made 20 from 22. But neither player could break free as Bates bowled four overs for just 16 runs while Halliday also took a wicket in her two overs for 11 runs. Kerr took a wicket in the final over to finish with figures of 2 for 29.
New Zealand’s chase started poorly with Georgia Plimmer caught behind in the second over for just 4. Emma McLeod followed suit in the seventh over for a sluggish 11 from 13 but Bates controlled the chase at the other. Safe in the knowledge she needed less than a run-a-ball, she struck just four boundaries and only faced consecutive dot balls once in her 46-ball innings before she was caught and bowled in 15th over with 29 still needed to win.
Halliday ensured they were knocked off with ease striking multiple boundaries in both the 16th and 18th overs as she made 46 not out from 40 balls to steer her side home and go past her previous T20I best of 38.
The series will be decided in the third T20I in Dunedin on Tuesday.
Brief scores:
New Zealand Women 117 for 3 in 18.3 overs (Suzie Bates 47, Emma McLeod 11, Brooke Halliday 46*; Inoshi Priyadarshini 1-19, Sugandika Kumari 1-16, Achini Kulasuriya 1-11)beat Sri Lanka Women 113 for 7 in 20 overs (Chamari Athapaththu 23, Harshith Samarawickrema 11, Kavisha Dilhari 12, Manudi Nanyakkara 35, Nilakshika Silva 20; Bree Illing 2-18, Jess Kerr 2-29, Flora Devonshire 1-12, Brooke Halliday 1-11) by seven wickets
[Cricinfo]
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