Sports
Historic achievement as dozen reach entry standards for World Junior Championship
by Reemus Fernando
With eleven athletes reaching entry standards for the World Junior Athletics Championships to be held in Lima, Peru, Sri Lanka Athletics is set to ‘create history in August by fielding its biggest contingent to a world junior event’.
The track and field governing body has formed a team of 12 athletes including the men’s 4×100 metres relay team that won the silver medal at the Asian Junior Athletics Championship.
Ananda College sprinter Merone Wijesinghe who anchored the team to silver at the Asian event, Leeds International, Matara sprinter Induwara Weeraratne, Ananda’s Indusara Vidushan, De Mazenod College Kandana athlete Kaushan Thamel and Mahinda College, Galle athlete Ayesh Mihiranga will form the 4×100 metres relay team. They finished first second, third, fourth and fifth respectively at the Under 20 100 metres final at the recently held Junior National Athletics Championship.
Ambagamuwa MV hurdler Ayomal Akalanka has constantly clocked sub 53 seconds this season in the 400 metres hurdles and was among the first few athletes to reach entry standards for the world event.
Like Ayomal, Nannapurawa MV, Bibila athlete Madushani Herath has become the senior national champion in both the long jump and the triple jump while still attending school. The Asian Junior championship silver medallist has dominated all major national events this season.
Lyceum International Wattala sprinter Jithma Wijetunga is the only other girl who has reached entry standards. She clocked sub 55 seconds(54.85) in the final at the Junior National Championship to reach entry standards.
Lyceum’s Sandun Kosala reached entry standards in the 110 metres hurdles with a feat of 14.17 seconds in the heats at the Junior National Championship.
Jathya Kirulu (Mahinda College Galle) is the only member from the medal winning Asian Junior Championship 4×400 metres relay team to have reached entry standards for the 400 metres. He reached entry standards at the National Championship. At the Junior Championship he clocked 47.28 seconds in the 400 metres heats before returning a time of 47.36 in the final.
In field events, Ananda’s Lesandu Arthavidu(former DSS athlete) and Tharusha Mendis of Lyceum have reached entry standards for high jump. Mendis is the youngest having reached entry standards competing in the Under 18 age category.
Sri Lanka Athletics has submitted the team for Sports Ministry approval and it is incumbent upon authorities to provide necessary facilities for the team to make the costly journey to Peru.
By A Special Sports Correspondent
Kandy Sports Club smashed the daylights out of Navy Sports Club in their inter-club league rugby tournament match up in Nittawela on Sunday when they recorded a 66-5 win. The winners led 38-0 at the short whistle of referee Charani Liyanage. Incidentally this also marked the first occasion when a female member from the Sri Lanka Association of Rugby Football Referees got an opportunity to officiate in a division 1 men’s inter-club rugby tournament fixture in Sri Lanka.
Kandy SC opened the floodgates on the ‘Sailors’ in the second half and ran in tries through D. Wickremaarachchi, Dhanushka Ranjan, Gayan Perera and Dilksha Dange. Navy earned their only try which came in the second half through Stephen Gregory.
Meanwhile CR&FC kept title hopes alive with an exciting 27-22 win over CH&FC in closely contested domestic inter-club league rugby tournament encounter played on Saturday at Race Course.
CR played their fast and superior rugby throughout the eighty minutes of rugby, but found CH equally aggressive in their approach to the game. The scores were deadlocked 22 all till the dying stages of the game, before CR’s Aron Corera produced the match winner scoring near the corner flag. The try scorers for the winners were I.Ariyapala, A.Weeratunga and Corera while Zubair Doray kicked right two conversions and a penalty.
The players who were outstanding for CH were Udesh Madushanka, Janidu Dilshan and Nirosh Perera who touched down once each. Janith Chandimal and Dinesh de Silva did the honours in the kicking department.
Also on Saturday, Air Force Sports Club did well to beat Police Sports Club by 20 points to 19 in a closely contested game at Ratmalana. Both sides scored three tries each, but Air Force pulled off the game through their strengths in the kicking department. The scores read seven all at half time.
On Friday, Havelocks Sports Club downed Army Sports Club by 29 points to 18 after trailing 5-3 at halftime. The match was played at Panagoda.
Havies got their points through four tries, three conversions and a penalty while Army responded with two tries, a conversion and two penalties. S. Waidyanatha, D. kodagoda, J.Rajaratne and did the honours in the try scoring department for the winners while Samuel Maduwantha slotted in three conversions and a penalty. D.Wijetilake and M.Patapilihewage scored a try each for the Soldiers while the promising Gayan Salinda kicked right a conversion and two penalties.
Sri Lions SC didn’t have a game his week.
Ceylon Biscuits Limited (CBL Group), the leading food manufacturer, are powering the MCA “D” Division 40-over League Tournament 2025 for the 5th successive year and is contested for the glittering “CBL – Munchee” trophy.
The official sponsorship handing over ceremony together with the media conference was held at the MCA Legends Wing.recently.
The tournament features 15 teams pooled into three (03) groups and got underway on 4 th of December 2024 and will conclude on 25 th January 2025 with the final
Participating Teams and their Groupings
Group A:
Hemas Group, The Recovery Room, Peoples Leasing PLC, Colombo Dockyard, Yokohama TWS
Group B:
Airport and Aviation, Abans Group, Nations Trust Bank, HNB Finance, Power Hand Plantations
Group C:
Central Finance, Millenium IT, Teejay Lanka, Delmege Group, Seylan Bank
Defending champions India started their Under-19 Women’s World Cup campaign with a bang, routing West Indies for just 44 before scripting a nine-wicket win. This came just hours after Sri Lanka had skittled Malaysia for 23 earlier on Sunday.
In the second game of the day, India’s bowlers cashed in on their decision to bowl first by troubling West Indies with swing and spin. Fast bowler VJ Joshitha handed them a double-blow when she trapped Samara Ramnath in front and on the next ball had Naijanni Cumberbatch caught at slip to a superb diving catch from Sanika Chalke.
When left-arm spinners Aayushi Shukla and Parunika Sisodia struck in consecutive overs to remove Jahzara Claxton and Brianna Harricharan respectively for ducks, West Indies were 17 for 4 after 5.1 overs. Three run outs in as many overs added to their woes, and 39 for 7 soon became 44 all out as Shukla and Sisodia wrapped things up. Sisodia finished with 3 for 7 while Joshitha and Shukla picked up two each.
India lost only Gongadi Trisha, for 4, in the modest chase as G Kamalini and Chalke finished things off in 4.2 overs.
Hosts Malaysia were shot out for just 23 in their maiden Under-19 Women’s T20 World Cup appearance by Sri Lanka, who completed a 139-run win in the first of the two games on Sunday, in Kuala Lumpur.
Put in to bat, Sri Lanka rode on quick knocks from opener Sanjana Kavindi (30 off 13) and No. 3 Dahami Sanethma (55 off 52) to score 52 in the powerplay before Sanethma led the innings even as wickets fell at the other end, including two in the 17th over. Cameos from Hiruni Hansika (28 off 21) and Shashini Gimhani (13 off 7) powered them to 162.
In reply, Malaysia lasted 14.1 overs as left-arm spinner Chamodi Praboda struck twice in the second over to reduce the hosts to 2 for 3. Manudi Nanayakkara and Limansa Thilakarathna took two wickets each as no Malaysia batter reached double-figures and six were dismissed for ducks. Praboda finished with figures of 4-2-5-3.
Brief scores:
India crush West Indies by nine wickets
West Indies
Women Under 19 44 in 13.2 overs (Asabi Calender 12, Kenika Casssar 15; V J Joshitha 2-05, Aayushi Shukla 2-06, Parunika Sisodia 3-07) lost to India Women Under 19 47/1 in 4.2 overs (G Kamalini 16*, Sanika Chalke 18*; ra Claxton 1-18) by nine wickets
Sri Lanka Women
Under 19 162/6 in 20 overs (Sanjana Kavindi 30, Dahami Sanethma 55, Manudi Nanaykkara 14, Hiruni Hansika 28, Shashini Gimhani 13*; Subavika Manivannan 1-33, Nur Dhania Syuhada 1-36, Marina Qistina Binti Abdullah 1-31, Siti Nazwah 2-31, Nur Isma Dania Binti Mohd Daniel 1-23) beat Malaysia Women Under 19 23 in 14.1 overs (Rashmika Sewwandi 1-02, Chamodi Prabodha 3-05, Manudi Nanayakkara 2-08, Limansa Thilakarathne 2-03) by 139 runs
(Cricinfo)
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