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Junior Development Committee commences Youth Awakening 2026 ahead of next Youth Olympics

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The Junior Development Committee (JDC) appointed by the National Olympic Committee (NOC) is launching its operations under the program “Youth Awakening 2026” to identify and support young sportsmen and women of the highest caliber with a focus to produce star class athletes and increased success for the Sri Lanka National team in the international arena.

“Youth Awakening 2026” being the first of its kind looks to provide young athletes with consistent and continuous mentoring and training through a comprehensive threefold strategy adapted by the Junior Development Committee, by way of Programs, Direct Athlete Support and Funding.

“When it comes to high performance, we take the top athletes in Sri Lanka. Although they are top in Sri Lanka they are far below against the rest of the world and the strategy put together by the JDC would be the answer that would raise the standard of sports in Sri Lanka and allow our athletes to compete with the rest of the world” says Chairman of the Junior Development Committee of the NOC Shirantha Peiris.

Through Programs created and developed to promote fundamental principles and values of Olympians in Sri Lanka, Athletes could look forward to being connected with trainers, nutritionists and sports psychologists who would play a key role in creating a healthy mindset and a positive approach towards their education, sports, and career.

Young High Potential players are offered a unique advantage with the ‘Direct Athlete Support Program’ designed to identify and provide opportunities aimed to facilitate their development and expose them to the next level of their chosen pathway through School Placement programs and holistic sports training. Two interesting developments of the program include a ‘Health cover’: where all JDC contracted athletes will be provided with a free of charge medical cover for the duration of their contract; as well as a ‘Medal incentive funding program’ that would promulgate state funded grants or corporate funded incentives to athletes who showcase true potential to win a medal in the international games.

The JDC takes pride in this unparalleled and one-of-a-kind program that is fully self-funded thereby reiterating its ethos which is to uplift athletics in Sri Lanka. Development of merchandise, marketing international competitions to attract sponsors, sustainability initiatives are a few steps taken towards direct funding.

While the JDC, through “Youth Awakening 2026” will truly awaken athletics in Sri Lanka to its true potential, Sri Lanka will see a continuity of top-notch athletes being produced making it an unceasing revolution. This movement is an ever advancing one, that would resonate throughout; in the face of Youth Olympics, Youth Paralympics, Commonwealth Games, Asian Games etc. which presents itself as an excellent opportunity for corporates to add to their story and join hands with this exceptional initiative by dedicating themselves towards transforming the sports scene in Sri Lanka.



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President envisions Sri Lanka’s return to cricket prominence

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Speaking at the 125th anniversary celebration of the Sinhalese Sports Club (SSC) at the Shangri-La Hotel Colombo on Thursday (28), President Ranil Wickremesinghe expressed his aspirations for Sri Lanka to reclaim its position as the champion of cricket, highlighting the government’s commitment to providing all necessary support to achieve this goal.

The President also emphasized the importance of maintaining a separation between politics and sports. He suggested that preventing politicians from assuming high positions in sports clubs could contribute to a healthier sporting environment.

A commemorative book documenting the 125-year history of the Sinhalese Sports Club was launched, accompanied by the release of a postage stamp and a first-day cover.

President Ranil Wickremesinghe took the opportunity to commend SSC players who had represented Sri Lanka at international cricket, expressing appreciation for their contributions.

Professor Maithree Wickramasinghe, Minister of Tourism, Lands, Sports and Youth Affairs Harin Fernando, along with notable figures such as Chairman of Sri Lanka Cricket Shammi Silva, Chairman of Sinhalese Sports Club Indunil De Silva, Secretary Wasantha Wijesekera, Treasurer Nilanka Peiris and members of the executive committee of the Sinhalese Sports Club graced the occasion. The event also saw the presence of former presidents, distinguished past and present cricketers, including former captain of the England cricket team Nasser Hussain and ICC referee Ranjan Madugalle, among other esteemed guests.

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Parag, Chahal make it two in two for Rajasthan Royals

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Parag went from a run-a-ball 26 a 45-ball 84* to help RR post a competitive 185 (IPL)

In a see-saw encounter, Rajasthan Royals prevailed over a fighting Delhi Capitals after a collective bowling effort backed up Riyan Parag’s heroics with the bat. It gave Royals their second win on the trot, while Rishabh Pant’s men were condemned with another bitter pill to swallow in their second outing of IPL 2024.

The pitch at the Sawai Man Singh stadium did not offer the best chance for strokeplay early on. It required the batters spending some time on it to adjust to the slight slowness available. This allowed Delhi Capitals to exploit the conditions to their advantage. First up, Mukesh Kumar castled Yashasvi Jaiswal from round the wicket. Sanju Samson could not have an impact either as Khaleel Ahmed had him caught behind from round the wicket. Soon after, Jos Buttler was trapped LBW by Kuldeep, who was confident enough to push it through a review. At 36/3, in the 8th over the Royals innings was seemingly going nowhere.

The situation called for some nous and Rajasthan gambled with R Ashwin at No. 5. They’ve not been shy to use such a tactic before as it allowed the big-hitters to come down the innings with more license to break free. But Parag and Ashwin were smart together in stitching a neat partnership worth 54. Ashwin was not averse to sweeping Kuldeep Yadav and even managed a couple of neat pulls against Anrich Nortje. His 19-ball 29 put the innings back on course and gave Parag, who had been circumspect until then with a run-a-ball 26, a springboard to launch ahead.

As the innings drew towards a close, Parag had a great sense of how it was playing and what the bowlers were offering. He began to unleash a series of confident shots to up the ante. First Khaleel Ahmed, who had been on the mark up until then, was taken down in his final over as Parag went 6, 4, 4 as the pacer attempted wide yorkers. Mukesh Kumar erred on the fuller side and was promptly put away as Parag raced to a fifty. But the icing on the cake came in the final over of the innings bowled by Nortje.

It turned out to be a takedown for the ages as Nortje steamed in quick but was dispatched to the boundary as quickly. Parag was lucky that he edged a couple with third man up, but the risk was on as Nortje challenged him to clear the square boundaries with his wide lines. Parag was up for that challenge when it was banged in short as well and pulled him for a couple of sixes. The final over read 4, 4, 6 , 4 , 6, 1 as Parag raced away to an unbeaten 84 and propelled RR to a competitive total.

Delhi Capitals were desperate for a good start to the chase and they found that with an imposing Mitchell Marsh muscling some early boundaries. He hit five fours in his 23 but was soon bowled by an chopping on an incoming delivery from Nandre Burger. One brought two as Burger then had Ricky Bhui gloving a sharp short ball to the wicket-keeper. At 30/2, DC’s chase was in danger of a short circuit.

The experienced pair of David Warner and Rishabh Pant now joined hands as they set about playing with a mixture of caution and aggression. Together they put on a rather patient 67 off 47 balls. While it did not do much in terms of taking the required run-rate down, it allowed them a base to launch a final counterattack from. Even as the duo fell in quick succession, and Yuzvendra Chahal struck twice, DC found more starts at the back-end.

Tristan Stubbs had a moment of luck when he was put down by Trent Boult off R Ashwin. This put him on course for a boundary-filled counterattack. Ashwin was put over the fence a couple of times, while Sandeep Sharma’s slower balls were clobbered with immense power. As Axar Patel too chipped in with a useful boundary, the equation tapered down to 17 needed off the final over. At this point, Avesh Khan stepped up to bowl a boundary-less over against the well-set batters as he executed his plans to perfection.

What next?

Delhi Capitals have a couple of days gap before they take on Chennai Super Kings in their adopted home of Vizag on March 31. The following day, Rajasthan Royals play their first away game of the season as they travel to Mumbai.

Brief Scores:
Rajasthan Royals 185/5 in 20 overs (Riyan Parag 84*, Ravichandran Ashwin 29, Dhruv Jurel 20; Khaleel Ahmed 1-24, Mukesh Kumar 1-49, Anrich Nortje 1-48, Axar Patel 1-21, Kuldeep Yadav 1-41 ) beat Delhi Capitals 173/5 in 20 overs  (David Warner 49, Mitchell Marsh 23, Rishabh Punt 28,  Tristan Stubbs 44*; Nandre Burger 2-29, Avesh Khan 1-29,  Yuzvendra Chahal 2/19) by 12 runs

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Sri Lanka create major upset in basketball Asia Cup

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Sri Lanka created the biggest upset in the ongoing FIBA Asia 3x3 tournament in Singapore when they beat Korea yesterday.

Sri Lanka’s basketball team created a major upset when they beat one of sport’s powerhouses – Korea – in the FIBA 3×3 Asia Cup played in Singapore yesterday.The young Sri Lankan team were total outsiders against Korea, who are a strong side in the region. The Koreans outmatched the Sri Lankans with their height and were off to a blistering start taking an early lead.

However, the Sri Lankans hung in there, shot and drove to the basket with determination and more importantly converted the free throws to create the biggest upset in the tournament.

With the clock ticking in the final moments, Pawan Gamage’s explosive drive to the basket made the Korean defence collapse and smartly, he offloaded the ball to Dasun Nilantha, who executed a jump shot from short corner to give Sri Lanka a hard fought 21-19 win.

While Sri Lanka progressed to the last 12 and are one step away from a quarter-final slot, big brother India were knocked out of the competition after a shock defeat to Malaysia.

Sri Lanka will compete alongside Mongolia and Thailand today as the only South Asian nation to qualify for the final round.

Sri Lanka have remained unbeaten in the competition having won all three of their games. Their first win came against another strong side – Indonesia, whom they beat 21-14.

The game against Mongolia will be worked off today (Friday) at 12:10 pm Sri Lanka time while the Thailand fixture is at 6:05 pm.

The condensed format of the sport is somewhere the national team has made huge strides over the years and with more backing from Sri Lanka Basketball Federation and Ministry of Sports, the team could go on to do wonders.

The 3×3 arm of local basketball is a well-organized unit with regular events. International exposure for the team could help them to reach new heights.

The Sri Lankan 3×3 team represents several parts of the country showcasing how much the talent is spread around the country. While Rukshan Atapattu and Pawan Gamage are from Colombo, Simron Yoganathan is from Jaffna and Dasun Nilantha hails from Ambalangoda.

While Atapattu is an undergraduate at the University of Moratuwa, Gamage is attached to Sri Lanka Army. Yoganathan is employed at Commercial Credit while Dasun is with the Ministry of Education.

Tharindu Fernando is the coach of the team.The Sri Lankan team has been sponsored by Vaaj Group for the last three years. The team is also training at Vaaj Fitness Center in Nawala.

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