Sports
Madushani produces season’s best but quarter-century old record stays put
Junior National Athletics Championships 2023
by Reemus Fernando
National Junior long jump record holder Madushani Herath shrugged off her early season disappointments with a notable performance in the Under 20 girls’ long jump as she came almost close to breaking a 25-year-old meet record on day three of the Junior National Athletics Championships at Diyagama on Tuesday.
The Nannapurawa MV, Bibila athlete missed the opportunity of representing Sri Lanka at the forthcoming Asian Junior Athletics Championships as she could not reach her usual form at the selection trial held in March. ‘She was struggling with her run-up then’ and could not go beyond the 5.70 metres mark in March. But yesterday she made jumps of over 5.80 metres on all her six attempts and delivered her season’s best of 6.06 metres with the support of a tailwind of +2.6.
Even her second-best jump (5.96) was good enough to put her in contention for the best athlete title of the meet in her age category by the end of the third day. The wind gauge reading of 2.6 prevented her from equaling the 25-year-old meet record of Anoma Sooriyarachchi (6.06).
She was expected to break the meet record from the time she cleared a National Junior Record distance of 6.09 metres at the same venue as a youth athlete last year.
The penultimate day of the meet was also notable for two record-breaking performances in the hammer throw. Nithinsa Mandani of Yatiyana MV, Matara threw the hammer to a distance of 40 metres to break the Under 23 women’s record established by A.W.A.S.M. Amarasinghe (2013).
In the Under 18 girls’ hammer throw Yuthara Linduli Jayaweera of Anula Vidyalaya, Nugegoda cleared a distance of 36.79 metres to create a new record.
The organisers were continuing the day’s event late into the evening after heavy rain hampered the afternoon session. Results of some of the events held in the evening were not available when this edition went to press.
Results
Under 20 Men’s 10000m
1. Suman Keeran of Mulankavil National School, Kilinochchi 35:35.92
2. M Dinushan of Saraswathy Central College, Nuwaraeliya 35:42.31
3. KK Lakindu Nirman of Ananda Sastralaya Mathugama 37:19.81
Under 23 Men’s 10000m
1. MSA Fernando of Colombo DAA 33:29.62
2. RMDP Rathnayaka of Sri Lanka Army 33:45.25
3. NBACP Madhubhashana of Yahala Arawa MV, Welimada 33:48.30
Under 23 Women’s 10000m
1. Nayana Sewwandi of Kalutara DAA 45:25.87
2. TV Hashini Lakshani of Pitadeniya Maha Vidyalaya, Galle 47:01.80
3. PGSS Wimalasooriya of Kandy DAA 47:06.46
Under 20 Women’s Long Jump
1. Madushani Herath of Nannapurawa MV, Bibila 6.06 (+2.6)
2. L Prasadi Anuradha Fernando of Newstead Girls’ College, Negombo 5.85
3. Dananjana Sithmini Ranasgalla of Lyceum International School, Gampaha 5.53
Under 16 Girls Hammer Throw
1. Ranudi Weerawardhane of Visakha Vidyalaya, Colombo 23.39
2. Dasini Vihangana of Mahamaya Balika Vidyalaya, Nugegoda 21.69
3. Imalsha Dhananjani of Welagedara Maha Vidyalaya 21.23
Under 18 Girls Hammer Throw
1. Yuthara Linduli Jayaweera of Anula Vidyalaya, Nugegoda 36.79m * NMR
2. Selvakumar Sevvanam of Polikandy Hindu Tamil Mixed School, Valvettithurai 30.76
3. BAK Kumari of Sumana Balika Vidyalaya, Rathnapura 24.36
Under 16 Boys’ Javelin Throw
1. Pawan Induwara of St. Joseph Vaz College, Wennappuwa 52.43
2. Shenal Weerakoon of St. Sebastian’s College, Moratuwa 52.33
3. TMD Induranga of Kuliyapitiya Central College, Kuliyapitiya 51.27
Under 23 Women’s Long Jump
1. Thanishia Joanna 5.43
2. Neha Hettiarachchi of Holy Cross College, Gampaha 5.36
3. GIS Lankathilaka of Sri Lanka Air Force 5.29 –
Under 23 Men’s Hammer Throw
1. Suseenthi Kumar Mithunraj of Hartley College, Jaffna 38.91
2. Guvidu Punyajith Welikaka of Dharmapala Vidyalaya, Pannipitiya 34.11
3. Isuru Dilhara Perera of Track Masters Sports Club 32.03
Under 18 Men’s Javelin Throw
1. Sadeepa Irosh of St. Joseph Vaz’s College, Wennappuwa 56
2. Dinethra Shakya of St. Joseph Vaz’s College, Wennappuwa 54.63
3. ESH Epasingha of Royal College, Horana 53.41
Under 23 Women’s 400m
1. Kavindi Edirisinghe of Visakha Vidyalaya, Colombo 57.65
2. KHAD Kaushalaya of Sri Lanka Air Force 58.76
3. UKSCP Bandara of Kegalle DAA 1:00.38
Under 23 Men’s Javelin Throw
1. Rumesh Tharanga of Kalutara DAA 67.50
2. Deshith Bhagya of Sri Lanka Air Force 53.12
3. Chamod Rashmika of Boy’s Model School, Malabe 50.20
Under 20 Men’s Long Jump
1. Hasitha Kavinda Dissanayake of Lyceum International, Gampaha 6.97
2. Razwin Careem of Lyceum International School, Panadura 6.89
3. Vidusha Siriwardhana of Ananda Sastralaya, Kotte 6.77
Salman Ali Agha said that he would have done things ‘differently”, after Mehidy Hasan Miraz ran him out in controversial circumstances in the second ODI in Dhaka.
Agha, who made 64 from 62 balls, had been backing up at the non-striker’s end when Mohammad Rizwan drove the ball back towards him. He was still out of his ground as Mehidy swooped round behind him in an attempt to gather, and Agha had appeared ready to pass the ball back to the bowler before Mehidy reached down to grab it first and throw down the stumps.
Agha reacted furiously to the dismissal, throwing his gloves and helmet down in disgust at the decision. However, he later came to the post-match press conference, ahead of captain Shaheen Shah Afridi and player of the match Maaz Sadaqat, to clear the air.
“I think sportsman spirit has to be there,” Agha said. “What he [Mehidy] has done is in the law. I think if he thinks it’s right, it’s right, but if you ask me my perspective, I would have done differently. I would have gone for sportsman spirit. We haven’t done this [type of thing] previously, we would never do that in the future as well.”
Agha explained that he had been trying to pick up the ball to give to Miraz, thinking it was likely to have been called dead. “Actually, the ball hit on my pad and then my bat,” he said. “So I thought he can’t get me run-out now, because the ball already hit on my pad and my bat.
“I was just trying to give him the ball back. I was not looking for the run or anything like that, but he already decided [to make the run-out].”
Agha however regretted his angry reaction. “It was just heat-of-the-moment kind of stuff,” he said. “If you ask me what would I have done, I would have done things differently. But it was everything, whatever happened after that, it was in the moment.”
He was also involved in a robust exchange with Bangladesh wicketkeeper Litton Das, though he didn’t divulge many of the details.
“I can’t remember what I was saying and I can’t remember what he was saying,” he said. “I’m sure I wasn’t saying nice things, and I’m sure he wasn’t saying nice stuff as well. But it was just heat of the moment, so we are fine.
Asked if he had patched things up with Mehidy, Agha said: “I haven’t yet, but don’t worry, I’ll find him.”
Pakistan won the match by 128 runs via the DLS method.
[Cricinfo]
The Bahrain and Saudi Arabia Grands Prix that were scheduled for next month are set to be cancelled as a result of the war in the Middle East.
A formal decision to call off the races has not yet been made but is expected before the end of the weekend.
Freight would need to start being shipped to the Middle East in the coming days. With no sign of the conflict between the US/Israel and Iran coming to a conclusion, holding the races would put personnel at too great a risk.
Neither event will be replaced, with the season being cut to 22 grands prix and F1 taking a commercial hit of more than £100m, given Bahrain and Saudi Arabia pay two of the highest hosting fees.
The race in Bahrain was scheduled to be on 12 April with Jeddah the following weekend.
Consideration was given to holding events at Portimao in Portugal, Imola in Italy or Istanbul Park in Turkey.
But it was accepted that the time to organise a race at any of those locations was too short, and there was little chance of securing a hosting fee.
The decision will mean there is a five-week break between the Japanese Grand Prix on 29 March and Miami on 3 May.
(BBC)
Royal College made steady progress in reply to their arch rivals’ first innings total as skipper Rehan Peiris and Ramiru Perera guided them to 175 for four wickets at stumps on day two of the 147th Battle of the Blues at the SSC ground on Friday.
Royal needed only 51 overs to reach their end-of-day total after S. Thomas’ College had earlier adopted a cautious approach before being bowled out for 302 runs.
Royal suffered an early setback when open batsman Hirun Liyanarachchi was dismissed for naught in the very first over, caught behind by Aaron Kodituwakku off the bowling of Gimhan Mendis.
Skipper Rehan Peiris then steadied the innings, repairing the early damage with two useful partnerships. He first added 41 runs for the second wicket with Udantha Gangewatta and followed it up with a 34-run stand for the third wicket alongside Sri Lanka Under-19 skipper Vimath Dinsara.
Dinsara struggled to find fluency during his stay at the crease, managing 11 runs off 30 balls before being trapped leg-before by Gimhan Mendis, who finished the day with two wickets.
Rehan continued to anchor the innings and produced the most productive stand of the Royal innings when he combined with Ramiru Perera for a vital 78-run partnership for the fourth wicket. The Royal skipper’s determined knock finally ended on 63 when he was dismissed by Ludeesha Matarage.
From there, Ramiru Perera and Yasindu Dissanayake ensured there were no further setbacks, batting cautiously until bad light forced the umpires to call off play.
Perera remained unbeaten on 70, an attractive innings that included ten boundaries, while Dissanayake provided solid support at the other end as Royal closed the day strongly.
Earlier in the day, resuming from their overnight score, the Thomians continued with their ultra-cautious approach, scoring at just over two runs per over. Reshon Solomon top-scored with 66 runs, while Ludeesha Matarage and Raphael Hettige chipped in with useful contributions in the twenties.
S. Thomas’ were eventually bowled out for 302 just before the lunch interval on the second day, having consumed 124 overs during their four-session first innings.
Gagan Gamage was the pick of the Royal bowlers with impressive figures of four wickets for 49 runs. He received good support from Sehandu Sooriyaarachchi, who claimed three wickets for 64 runs, while Himaru Deshan picked up two wickets for 43. Ramiru Perera also chipped in with a wicket to complete the Thomian innings.
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