Sports
Lack of support for nutritional needs will hold back marathoners – Sajith Jalayal
By Reemus Fernando
Sajith Jayalal, the coach of leading long-distancerunners and marathoners said that lack of support to obtain nutritional needs will continue to hold the progress of marathoners in Sri Lanka. He said this in an interview with The Island after the hosts failed to challenge the Indian supremacy at the Sri Lanka Athletics’ centenary half marathon held on Saturday.
Sri Lanka Athletics conducted a half marathon on Saturday to commence its centenary year celebrations. The grueling road event which started and concluded at Diyatha Uyana saw a number of runners from the South Asian region taking part. While India dominated the race winning both the men’s and women’s titles, the local athletes had to settle for lesser laurels.
“It is nothing but the nutritional factor that keeps our marathoners from winning at regional level. For energy sapping events like the marathon and half marathon you need to train hard to be competitive and those training regiments should be compensated with proper nutrition,” said Jayalal who is also the director of the National Institute of Sports Science.
“We must maintain a pool of athletes for marathon. They should be provided with proper nutrition if they are to succeed at international level,” said Jayalal whose charges were the top performers among local athletes at the road race held on Saturday.
While his charge Shanmugeshwaran was placed third behind two Indian athletes in the men’s half marathon, Piyumali Perera finished second behind India’s Sanjivani Yadhew in the women’s event.
Incidentally, it was under Jayalal’s guidance that Sri Lanka fielded its first female marathoner at Olympics in 2016. But after Geethani Rajasekara’s retirement, the US based Hiruni Wijeratne has been the country’s front runner in the women’s marathon. Local marathoners are yet to reach the standard maintained by the likes of Rajasekara.
Though Sri Lanka has won a couple of marathon events at the South Asian Games including Wijeratne’s gold winning feat at the last edition, India continue to reign supreme in the region. Sri Lanka has not won a men’s marathon at the South Asian Games since 2006.
The country is also lagging behind in the region with regard to nurturing a marathon running culture. While India conducts a number of International top label marathons on its soil, Sri Lanka’s only recognized international marathon, the Colombo Marathon was not held last year.
The National Sports Festival marathon and the Youth Sports Festival marathon are the only marathons available for local runners.
Chamari Athapaththu is set to miss the final phase of the WPL for UP Warriorz (UPW) to join Sri Lanka on a white-ball tour of New Zealand starting March 4 in Napier. Athapaththu’s departure will be the second big blow for UPW who are already without their full-time captain Alyssa Healy because of injury.
ESPNcricinfo has learnt that as of now, Athapaththu is going to be available for UPW until February 26, which is four more games for them, before she tends to national duties. After their game on February 26, against Mumbai Indians in Bengaluru, UPW will fly to Lucknow for the final league phase of the tournament where they will play three home matches. They left Athapaththu out of the XI in the clash they lost to Gujarat Giants.
Athapaththu was named captain of Sri Lanka’s 16 member side released by SLC on Monday and the squad is scheduled to leave for New Zealand on February 22 for three ODIs and as many T20Is.
Allrounder Amelia Kerr is the only New Zealand player in the WPL this season and she, unlike Athapaththu, is going to miss the bilateral series next month to play the entire WPL, including the knockouts if MI qualify for those again. If MI make it to the final, scheduled for March 15, Kerr will also miss the first two T20is slotted for March 14 and 16 in Christchurch. Last year too, Kerr had skipped the home bilateral T20Is against England to be available for the entire duration of the WPL.
In 2024, the calendar clash between the final leg of WPL and the T20I series in New Zealand had become a much bigger issue when England captain Heather Knight (RCB) and Lauren Bell (UPW) had opted out of WPL completely to represent their national team. Coincidentally, Athapaththu had replaced Bell for UPW then.
However, since then boards like the ECB have assured their players they won’t schedule international games during the WPL, which is set to move from the current February-March window to January-February 2026 onwards, according to the new women’s Future Tours Programme (FTP). To avoid such clashes between international series and other T20 leagues, the Hundred (August) and the WBBL (November) have also been given separate windows in the FTP that runs till 2029.
[Cricinfo]
Sri Lanka Masters will lock horns with their Australian counterparts today in the semi-finals of the Over-50 Masters World Cup at the Mercantile Cricket Association grounds in Colombo – 7. The other semi-final will see England take on Pakistan across the wall at NCC. The grand final set to be played at the P. Sara Oval on Sunday.
Led by Shane Fernando and coached by Harsha de Silva, the Sri Lankan team has been a formidable presence in the tournament.
Organized by International Masters Cricket (IMC)—an Australia-based body dedicated to senior cricket—the body promotes four age group categories, ranging from Over-40s to Over-70s.
This year’s tournament has brought together 14 nations: Australia, New Zealand, India, Pakistan, Sri Lanka, South Africa, Zimbabwe, Namibia, England, Wales, UAE, Canada, USA and the West Indies and caters for over 50 players. Sri Lanka Masters have consistently participated across all age-group World Cups, underscoring their commitment to veterans’ cricket.
Previous editions of the tournament were hosted in Sydney and Cape Town. The Colombo leg commenced earlier this month, with the 14-team event broadcast live globally. In total, 56 matches were scheduled, with each innings comprising 45 overs.
Veterans’ cricket continues to gain popularity worldwide, promoting fitness, camaraderie, and a love for the game well beyond the professional years. This tournament not only offers intense competition but also serves as a testament to the sport’s enduring appeal. However, despite its significance, the Masters World Cup struggles with limited sponsorship, relying largely on self-funding and a restricted budget to stay afloat.
Sri Lanka squad:
Saman Jayantha, Rory Ingram, Indika de Saram, Ruvin Peiris (Vice-Captain), Russell Ingram, Shane Fernando (Captain), Upul Chandana, Suwanji Madanayake, Duminda Somaweera, Dilshan Amarasinghe, Ravi Perera, Dillon Fernandesz, Priyantha Rajapaksha, Chaminda Rajapaksha, Punyakantha Abeygunasekara, Renuka Nonis, Pujitha Uduwana, and Daminda Wijesekara.
Sri Lanka team for the South Asian Cross Country Championships were scheduled to leave for Pakistan early morning today. The twice postponed championship will be held in Islamabad on Sunday. The team for this championship was selected early last year.
(Seated from left) S.P. Wasantha Kumara (Team Manager), Janz Dissanayake (Coach). (Back row from left)· W.M.N.G. Abeyrathne (Senior), W.H.K. Madhushan (Junior), R.A.D. Hemantha Kumara (Senior), W. Vakshan (Senior), R. Vidushan (Junior),
S. Thudiharshidan (Junior)
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