Sports
Gayanthika, Nilani, Sarangi and schoolgirl Tharushi among top athletes in 2022
by Reemus Fernando
Having improved the national record of the women’s 800 metres twice this year Gayanthika Abeyratne was easily the country’s top performer in the women’s category in track and field sports in 2022. While 100 metres remained the most closely contested track discipline in the women’s category, steeplechaser Nilani Ratnayake, long jumper Sarangi Silva and schoolgirl Tharushi Karunaratne made their presence felt to a great extent during the year.
There were no big victories at major international multisport events for Sri Lanka in the women’s category. The Asian Games, the only event where Sri Lanka were aiming for medals was postponed. In its absence, long jumper Sarangi Silva and Abeyratne produced some top performances elsewhere to secure top-ranking places in the Asian region.
Sarangi’s record-breaking 6.65 metres leap at the First Selection Trial in February was an ideal start to the season where she was aiming to qualify for both the Asian Games and the World Athletics Championships. She had to give up on the World Championships after being included in the team at the eleventh hour as she prioritized Commonwealth Games. There she produced jumps over six metres and qualified for the final as the tenth best jumper for a feat of 6.42 metres. Her national record jump of 6.65 metres is ranked as the third-best jump by a female athlete in Asia this year.
Competing against a strong field inclusive of Olympic, World Championship and Pan American Championship medallists, winning a medal was not a priority for Abeyratne at the Commonwealth Games. Hence she took the opportunity to deliver her lifetime best (2:01.20) to create a new national record in the 800 metres at Birmingham.
In a World Championship year, most of the athletes suffered without top-grade competitions to improve their world rankings. Nilani Rathnayake who missed the last Olympics due to the same reason spent a better part of the year waiting for an opportunity. What placed her among the top ten in Asia this year was her record-breaking performance at the Centenary National Championships. She clocked 9:40.24 seconds to improve on her own record in the meet held in April.
The untimely death of national 400 metres hurdles champion Kaushalya Madushani shocked the athletics fraternity early this year. The heartbreaking news came just a day after the National Championship was concluded. Months after her death, she remains one of the top ten athletes in the country according to the World Athletics rankings.
Among the top ten athletes in the female category are four 100 metres sprinters. Amasha de Silva, Lakshika Sugandi, Rumeshika Ratnayake and Medhani Jayamanne according to World Athletics’ year end rankings.
Ratnayake Central, Walala athlete Tharushi Karunaratne is the only school athlete among the top ten ranked athletes in the country. Her prowess in the 400 metres and the 800 metres has powered her to a number of Junior International events. However, the news of her 400 metres victory against seasoned national athletes at the Centenary National Championships doesn’t seem to have reached the authorities of the Central Province. The year came to an end with the shocking news of her being verbally abused by stadium authorities at Digana Sports Complex. At a time when students give up on sports in the current economic downturn, the likes of Karunaratne must be well looked after. It remains to be seen whether the sports authorities have a genuine interest in doing so.
Highest Ranked Female Athletes in 2022
Gayanthika Abeyratne 800m
Nilani Rathnayake 3000m Steeple chase
Sarangi Silva long jump
Tharushi Karunaratne 400m, 800m
Amasha de Silva 100m
Lakshika Sugandi 100m, 100m hurdles
Nadeesha Ramanayake 400m
Rumeshika Ratnayake 100m
Kaushalya Madushani 400m, 400m hurdles
Medhani Jayamanne 100m, 200m
North Korea has held the Pyongyang International Marathon for the first time in six years, welcoming some 200 foreign runners to the streets of the reclusive country’s capital.
The marathon, which was launched in 1981, took place annually in April to celebrate the birth of its founding leader Kim Il Sung.
Before Sunday’s marathon, the race was last held in 2019, wherein 950 foreigners participated. North Korea sealed itself off the following year, when the Covid-19 pandemic hit.
North Korea has been slow to reopen since, allowing only Russian tourists into its capital since last year.
Runners have had to enter the country as part of an organised tour group, as was the case before the pandemic.
Koryo Tours, a Beijing-based travel agency listed as an “exclusive partner” on the event website, offers six-day marathon tours at 2,195 euros ($2,406) including flights to and from Beijing.
“The Pyongyang Marathon is an extremely unique experience as it provides an opportunity to interact with locals,” the agency wrote on its website.
Sunday’s marathon route took participants past landmarks across the city, including the Kim Il Sung stadium, the Arch of Triumph built to commemorate Kim Il Sung’s role in resisting Japanese rule, and the Mirae Future Scientists’ Street said to be a residential district for scientists and engineers.
Pictures online show the stadium – where runners start and finish their race – filled with spectators, many of them cheering and waving gold-coloured paper flags.
Pak Kum Dong, a North Korean runner, told Reuters news agency: “The eyes of our people on me helped me to bear the difficulties whenever I feel tired.”
There is no publicly available information on race results.
North Korea had only statred to scale back Covid-19 restrictions in the middle of 2023.
In Feburary, it allowed some Western tourists into the remote, eastern city Rason, but suspended those tours just weeks after.
[BBC]
Noor Ahmad, the Chennai Super Kings (CSK) left-arm wristspinner, continues to head the Purple Cap table with ten wickets from four games. His spell of 4 for 18 in CSK’s first game against MI, remains his best so far.
DC’s Mitchell Starc who picked up his maiden five-for in T20s, against SRH remains second on the list with nine wickets in three games.
GT’s Mohammed Siraj equalled Starc’s tally on Sunday night with his own IPL best, albeit he has played four games to Starc’s three. Siraj picked up 4 for 17 against SRH to hand them their four successive loss, and was named the Player of the Match.
Sunrisers Hyderabad (SRH) suffered another batting malfunction, this time on a slow, black-soil surface at home, crashing to their fourth successive defeat in IPL 2025. Having lost Travishek in the powerplay, SRH waited until the 13th over to see the first six of the innings, and managed only one more after that Mohammad Siraj caused irreparable damage right from the start, ending with his career-best IPL figures of 4 for 17.
Pat Cummins’ cameo (22* off nine balls) and then his dismissal of Jos Buttler for a duck in Gujarat Titans’ (GT) chase of 153 gave SRH some hope, but that faded away once Washington Sundar clattered 23 off nine balls in the powerplay. Earlier in the day, GT didn’t need Washington with the ball, but his attacking enterprise at No. 4 settled their chase on a slow pitch. Washington fell agonisingly short of a maiden IPL half-century, but his captain Shubman Gill ushered GT home, with an unbeaten 61 off 43 balls, along with Sherfane Rutherford.
Siraj had sparked the Border-Gavaskar Trophy to life when he gave Travis Head a send-off in Adelaide last December. Four months on, Siraj was bowling to Head for the first time in T20s, and the battle lasted just five balls. After Head scored two fours off Siraj, the fast bowler struck with his trademark wobble-seam delivery, having him chip a catch to midwicket for 8.
Abhishek Sharma hit four fours before Siraj had him miscuing a catch to mid-on in his third over of the powerplay. It was Siraj’s 100th wicket in the IPL and sixth in the powerplay, the most by a bowler in that phase so far this season, with an economy rate of 6.27.
Siraj then returned in the death to york both Aniket Verma, the last recognised batter for SRH, and Simarjeet Singh, their Impact Player.
With both Head and Abhishek gone early,Rashid Khan, who was coming into this game on the back of figures of 4-0-54-0, could afford to ease himself in. He started fairly well by giving away just 10 runs in his first two overs, but when he erred in length, Nitish Kumar Reddy and Heinrich Klassen dispatched him to the fence. Rashid finished with 4-0-31-0, going wicketless for a third successive game, and with tournament figures of 1 for 143 in 14 overs at an economy rate of 10.21
Left-arm fingerspinner Ravisrinivasan Sai Kishore, on the other hand, showed remarkable control over his length and variations. He claimed the big wicket of Klaasen by knocking him over with a quick dart, which skidded off the pitch, for 27 off 19 balls. Sai Kishore also had Reddy holing out for 31 off 34 balls and finished with 4-0-24-2.
That SRH passed 150 was down to Cummins’ late blows. He was the only SRH batter in the top eight to have a strike rate of over 160.
It appeared like GT had handed a franchise debut to Washington to primarily match his offspin up with SRH’s left-hander heavy top order. But with Siraj dominating the powerplay and Sai Kishore taking care of the middle overs, GT ended up not using his offspin.
Washington then walked out to bat at No. 4 after his childhood friend B Sai Sudarshan and Buttler fell cheaply in successive overs. Washington took advantage of the last over of the powerplay, smoking Simarjeet for two sixes and two fours. It provided a throwback to Washington of 2016, when he opened the batting, alongside Abhinav Mukund, in the TNPL and showed the intent to hit over the top. Just like that, Washington dumped SRH’s Impact Player out of the attack.
Washington continued to attack even after that. When the ambidextrous Kamindu Mendis darted one on the stumps with his right hand, Washington manufactured swinging room and laced him over extra-cover for four. Washington seemed set for a fifty until he holed out one shy of the landmark in the 14th over.
Gill, who had already crossed 50 by that point, finished the job along with Rutherford, who hit an unbeaten 35 off 16 balls.
Brief scores:
Gujarat Titans 153 for 3 in 16.4 overs (Shubman Gill 61*, Washington Sundar 49, Sherfaine Rutherford 35*; Mohammed Shami 2-28, Pat Cumminss 1-26) beat Sunrisers Hyderabad 152 for 8 in 20 overs (Abhishek Sharma 18, Ishan Krishan 17, Nitish Kumar Reddy 31, Heinrich Klassen 27, Aniket Verma 18,Pat Cummins 22*; Mohammed Siraj 4-17, Ravisrinivasan Sai Kishore 2-24, Prasidh Krishna 2-25)by seven wickets
[Cricinfo]
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