Sports
Kandy-CR&FC clash in Colombo should be a rugby thriller
By A Special Sports Correspondent
The Inter-club league rugby tournament will culminate with the all important clash between Kandy SC and CR&FC (Scheduled for this weekend in Colombo) regardless of who is leading the points table at the end of eight weeks of high-octane rugby.
CR suffered a morale denting defeat against Havies last week before this all important game, which will eventually decide who finishes on top of the points table after the first round of matches. Interestingly Havelocks Sports Club, which is heading the points table with seven bonus points, would wish Kandy SC loses which would then secure their position as leaders of the points table. The players from Havelocks would be passive observers during the week which schedules the Kandy-CR game because the Park Club gets a week ‘off’ from rugby. Havelocks Sports Club exploded with a telling performance on the field last week and downed CR 53-42; this crunch game ending CR’s unbeaten run this season.
Kandy SC led by full back Srinath Sooriyabandara have lifted their game from where they finished last season. After a somewhat disappointing second place finish in the league tournament last year, Kandy SC has improved by leaps and bounds, with the larger share of progress seen in their scrums and line outs. The Kandy SC pack has gone from strength to strength this season with the inclusion of players in the like of Dilshan Fareed, Wewala Panditha, Thilina Bandara, Chathura Soysa and Dahan Wickremaarachchi. Former Isipatana College third row forward Wickremaarachchi showed what a devastating player he can be last week in the game against Police. The side from Nittawela rattled their opponents scoring seven tries at will. At present Kandy SC are placed second in the points table ahead of CR, who are placed third.
CR will have to do everything to stop the try-hungry back division of Kandy SC which comprises players in the likes of Nigel Ratwatte, Tharinda Ratwatte, Dhanushka Ranjan, Kavindu Perera, Dinal Ekanayake, skipper Srinath Sooriyabandara and new entrant to the side Shahid Zumri who has shown so much promise already in the club rugby circuit. Last season CR beat Kandy SC twice in the league tournament; 38-26 in the first round and 33-25 in the super round.
The Red Shirts have had a great season this year under centre three quarter Gemunu Chethiya despite suffering one defeat. Some of the talented players in the side to watch this season are Venura Kodagoda, Shenal Adikaram, Adeesha Weerathunga, Raveen de Silva, Omalka Guneratne, Viduna Amneth, Thenuka Nanayakkara, Aaron Corea, Silva brothers Randy and Rinesh and dazzling full back and place kicker Musheed Doray. CR was on a high till they met Havies last week and saw the floor cracking under them in that game. That high scoring game last week underscored one thing and that was that CR’s defence was pretty bad. CR must take note that the moment Kandy gets a sniff that a team’s defence is thin, the latter has the men and technique to open the flood gates. If CR is to make this game count they must revolve their game around defence and take maximum advantage of playing on home turf.
The match schedule for week nine in the domestic league rugby tournament are: CH vs Navy at Race Course, Army vs Air Force SC at Panagoda (both matches on February 8), Police vs Sri Lions at Police Park, CR&FC vs Kandy SC at Longden Place (both matches on February 9)
The teams:
CR&FC
from: J.Dilshan, Venura Kodagoda, T.Jayaweera, Navin Marasinghe, Shenal Adhikaram, Adeesha Weerathunga, Raveen de Silva, L.Karunathilake, R. Bandaranayake, Thenuka Nanayakkara, C. Muthunayake, Manilka Ruberu, Gemunu Chethiya (Captain), A. Corea, Musheed Doray, S. Perera, A.Akram, J.Weerabangsa, Omalka Guneratne, Suhiru Anthony, Viduna Amneth, I. Ariyapala, Randy Silva, Rinesh Silva
Kandy SC
: M.Wijesundara, Dilshan Fareed, M.Weerasinghe, Chathura Soysa, N. Premanath, Wewala Panditha, C. Kudalige, Thilina Bandara, Dahan Wickremaarachchi, H.Jansen, Nigel Ratwatte, Dinal Ekanayake, Tharinda Ratwatte, Dhanushka Ranjan, Kavindu Perera, Srinath Sooriyabandara (Captain), Schneider Loos Ethan, N.Athukorala, V. Kolombaarachchi, F.Wajid, Shahid Zumri, A.Senewirathne, D.Dange.
Sri Lanka Athletics has invited India, the Philippines and the Maldives for next month’s Relay Championships conducted by Sri Lanka Schools Athletics Association in a bid to provide the men’s 4×400 metres relay quartet with a chance to reach qualifying standards for the World Relays.
Currently Sri Lanka men’s 4×400 metres relay team is within the required ranking position to compete at the prestigious World Relays taking place in Guangzhou, China. The 3:04.48 seconds finish to win the gold medal of the men’s 4×400 metres at the Asian Relays in May last year has placed Sri Lanka in the 31st position in the ‘Road to Guangzhou’ rankings.
But with many competitions coming up within the next couple of months Sri Lanka Athletics wants to leave no stone unturned in their quest to keep the ranking position within the qualifying range.
The teams in the first 32 positions according to the times produced within the qualifying period (January 1, 2024 to April 13, 2025) become eligible for the World Relays taking place on May 10 and 11 in Guangzhou.
Sri Lanka’s chances of improving the current standings (31st) at this week’s World Indoor Championship in China are minimal as Olympian Aruna Dharshana, who is the fastest of the current crop of athletes will not be available for the event.
Dharshana is currently training and competing in Australia. He is looking forward to reach qualifying standards or reach the required ranking position for World Championships in the 400 metres.
The World Athletics has set a tough standard of 44.85 seconds for the men’s 400 metres. While only 17 are selected through direct qualifying standards, 31 athletes are selected through rankings for the 400 metres. Dharshana is yet yo enter rankings to be eligible for the World Championships.
Sri Lanka Athletics will field Dharshana, Kalinga Kumarage, S.B.R. Madushan and Sadew Rajakaruna for the relay event in April.
by Reemus Fernando
Defence Services Beach Volleyball Championship 2025 was held from March 12 to 14 at the SLAF beach volleyball courts, Katunayake. During the finals SLAF Men’s team defeated SL Army (2-0) while the SL Navy Women’s team defeated SLAF Women’s team (2-0). Incidentally is the seventh Defence Services Beach Volleyball title won by the SLAF Men’s Team.
Base Commander SLAF Base Katunayake AVM Dhammika Dias graced the occasion as the Chief Guest. Chairman of SLAF Volleyball, Group Captain Milinda Mendis, Senior Officers from SL Army and Navy were also present for the finals.
The Central Province Badminton Association (CPBA) is now accepting entries for one of Sri Lanka’s most anticipated badminton competitions, the Summer Season All-Island Open Championships 2025, which will be staged at the Municipal Council Indoor Stadium in Nuwara Eliya from April 21 to 27.
The highly followed seven-day annual badminton tournament, held during the Nuwara Eliya April Holiday Season, is known to attract Sri Lanka’s top ranked shuttlers. The National Ranking Level 1 competition, sanctioned by Sri Lanka Badminton (SLB), is one of the key sporting attractions of Nuwara Eliya during April every year, known to generate increasing public interest.
The championship will feature a wide range of events from Under-11 to Under-19 in the Junior category and Over-30 to Over-70 in the Senior category, with an addition of three Combined Age segment of 100+. The main attraction of the competition will be the Open events comprising Men’s and Women’s Singles, Doubles and Mixed Doubles, with an addition of a Plate Championship for the losers in Men’s and Women’s Singles.
The opening ceremony will take place on April 21st at 9:00am, followed by the preliminary rounds, leading up to the climax on April 26 with the quarter-finals and semi-finals. The excitement will continue on April 27 with the highly anticipated semi-finals and final matches, followed by the Closing Ceremony to mark the culmination of this championship.
The main draw seeding will be determined based on SLB Ranking as of April 13, followed by the draw on April 16 at 11:00am at No.2, Cambridge Terrace, Colombo 7. Entries will close on April 10 at noon. Entries can be submitted online or by contacting Sadeesha Adithya on 0761759017 and further details of the tournament are available in the prospectus published in the SLB website.
A total prize money of Rs.750,000 for all events based on the number of entries will be on offer, in addition to trophies, medals and certificates guaranteed for winners, runners-up and semi-finalists of each event of the tournament. Junior winners will receive appropriate gifts instead of prize money, according to a decision taken by the tournament organisers. The tournament is sponsored by Mobil, Li Ning, McFoil, 3M and GAC.
Accepting deposits for Local Authorities Election concludes
At least 12 dead in Honduras plane crash
Putin agrees in Trump call to pause Ukraine energy attacks but no full ceasefire
-
Foreign News4 days agoSearch continues in Dominican Republic for missing student Sudiksha Konanki
-
Features6 days agoRichard de Zoysa at 67
-
Features3 days agoThe Royal-Thomian and its Timeless Charm
-
News4 days agoDPMC unveils brand-new Bajaj three-wheeler
-
Features3 days ago‘Thomia’: Richard Simon’s Masterpiece
-
Features6 days agoSL Navy helping save kidneys
-
Sports1 day agoSri Lanka to compete against USA, Jamaica in relay finals
-
Features5 days agoWomen’s struggles and men’s unions