Sports

Making Olympic dream a reality

Published

5 years ago

2021/08/4

After Duncan White won an Olympic medal in 1948 in London, Sri Lanka had to wait for 52 years to end their medal drought. Susanthika Jayasinghe in Sydney in 2000 became the second Sri Lankan to win a medal.

by Rex Clementine

After Duncan White won the nation’s first Olympic medal in London, it took Sri Lanka 52 years to win their second Olympic medal in Sydney. If you believe in law of averages, our next medal should come somewhere in 2052. If you are over the age of 40 now, there is a good chance that you would be dead by the time the nation wins the next medal in Olympics. But then, there’s also something called if there’s a will there’s a way.

Perhaps, you don’t have to wait for as many as 52 years to win an Olympic medal if you can come across a genius like Susanthika. It is a well documented fact that she was a rare talent and she was destined for greatness from the moment her skills were spotted as a teenager. All what you need is someone with immense skill to break all the barriers and she remains an inspiration to millions of Sri Lankans.

But you tend to remember Arjuna’s words. Some players come along once in 50 years; Aravinda de Silva, Sanath Jayasuriya and Muttiah Muralitharan are the examples that he gives. The same is true with Susanthika.

However, some countries seem to be doing it with limited resources. Look at New Zealand. Despite a population of five million, they are among the top ten in the medals tally having already won six golds. Well, they have the sporting infrastructure, one may say. Fine, but what about Philippines, a developing country like us. They have already won two medals including a gold. Well, they have over 100 million population another may say. Then what about Cuba? With a population less than us (11 million), and an economy not so great, they have so far claimed 11 medals including four golds! Fabulous.

What prevents our athletes from reaching greater heights is an interesting question our readers may ask. One of the main issues that sportsmen in our country face is that the games they play are not professional. Except for cricket, all other sportsmen are amateurs. A good majority of them, thanks to their sporting skills find employment in the private sector and then instead of fine tuning their sporting skills, they do 8 – 5 jobs as business establishments are under pressure to perform constantly.

Businessmen who loved sports like Rienzie T. Wijetilleke, Hemaka Amarasuriya and late R. Rajamahendran are a rare breed who wanted their employees to train morning and evening and told them not to turn up for work. They will of course have an axe to grind if their sports stars didn’t perform up to expectations.

This is where the Sports Ministry needs to step in. Usually, the Ministry steps three months prior to a competition requests mercantile establishments to free the athletes to compete in global competitions. But sportsmen and women in other parts of the world are training six hours a day on a daily basis for four years.

Is there any possibility that the Sports Ministry identifies around five sports where there are medal prospects – ideally individual sports – and then offer these athletes annual contracts and ask them to train without worrying about earning a living. Surely, it’s not going to cost them an arm and a leg.

There’s three years for the next Olympics and with expertise coaching, the nation can have some hope of not waiting for half a century to win an Olympic medal. If there’s a will, there’s a way.

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Sports

India hammer New Zealand to retain T20 World Cup crown

Published

3 hours ago

2026/03/10

Sahan Weerasooriya

Defending champions India retained the T20 World Cup with a clinical performance over New Zealand in the final in Ahmedabad.

India produced a ruthless, near-flawless performance to retain the T20 World Cup title they won in the Caribbean two years ago, steamrolling New Zealand by 96 runs in Sunday’s final in Ahmedabad.

The Kiwis, who had marched into the final after ending South Africa’s unbeaten run in the Calcutta semi-final, ran into a blue wall. India piled up a daunting 255 for five after being asked to bat and then bundled New Zealand out for 159 with an over to spare, sealing one of the most emphatic wins in a World Cup final.

India had been given a wake-up call earlier in the tournament when South Africa handed them a heavy defeat in the Super Eight stage, leaving them needing four straight wins to lift the trophy. From that point on, Surya Kumar Yadav’s men put their foot on the accelerator and never looked back, playing like a side on a mission and delivering the knockout punch when it mattered most.

It was a triumph built not just on star power but on depth and system. India’s conveyor belt of talent keeps churning out match-winners, and their bench strength is the envy of the cricketing world. You may grumble about their strong-arm tactics in the corridors of power, but there is no denying the machine they have built. The result is domination across formats – men’s, women’s and Under-19 – echoing the era of Australian supremacy. At the moment, India are the team everyone else is chasing.

The victory was India’s biggest in T20 World Cup history and made them the first team to win the title three times. Former captains Rohit Sharma, who led the side to the 2024 crown and M.S. Dhoni, the architect of the inaugural triumph in 2007, were present at the venue to witness another chapter of Indian cricketing glory.

New Zealand, however, got their sums wrong. Their seamers stuck to predictable pace and failed to mix things up, allowing India’s openers to cash in during the powerplay.

Abhishek Sharma and Sanju Samson came out all guns blazing, racing to 98 for the first wicket in just 7.1 overs and putting the Kiwis immediately on the back foot. Abhishek set the tone with a blistering 52 off 22 balls, while Samson anchored the charge with a sparkling 89 off 46 deliveries, peppered with five fours and eight towering sixes.

Samson had been India’s banker throughout the tournament, striking three consecutive half-centuries during the campaign and walking away with the Player of the Series award.

The fireworks did not stop there. Ishan Kishan chipped in with a breezy 54 off 25 balls at number three as India threatened to push past the 270 mark. New Zealand managed to drag things back slightly at the death, but chasing 256 in a World Cup final was always going to be a bridge too far.

India’s bowlers then applied the squeeze. Jasprit Bumrah led the charge with a masterclass in fast bowling, finishing with figures of four for 15 and walking away with the Man of the Match award as New Zealand’s chase fizzled out quickly.

Rex Clementine in Ahmedabad

Sports

Chamuditha shines with all-round brilliance as St. Servatius’ beat Lumbini

Published

3 hours ago

2026/03/10

Sahan Weerasooriya

Viran Chamuditha produced impressive all-round performances to lead St. Servatius' to victory. (File Pic)

Sri Lanka Under-19 player Viran Chamuditha produced a superb all-round performance to power St. Servatius’ College Matara to a convincing innings and 55-run victory over Lumbini College in their Under-19 Division I Tier ‘A’ cricket tournament match played at the BRC Ground on Monday.

‎Chamuditha, who had earlier dazzled with the bat, went on to claim a match haul of ten wickets to seal an emphatic win for the Matara school.

‎After being forced to follow on when they were dismissed for 112 runs in their first innings, Lumbini showed some resistance in the second innings. Pasindu Maheesha, Linoth Methmal and Jayanitha Mendis offered brief fightbacks as they batted for nearly 50 overs, but the side was eventually bowled out for 183 runs.

‎Chamuditha led the bowling attack with a fine five wicket hal for 48 runs, sharing eight wickets in the innings with Lasindu Ramanayake. The pair had also been the main wicket takers in the first innings as St. Servatius’ dominated with the ball.

‎The foundation for the comprehensive victory had earlier been laid by the Servatius’ top order who piled up an imposing 350 for six wickets in 50 overs.

‎Heshan Madushanka top-scored with a fluent 128 runs off 147 deliveries, an innings studded with 16 boundaries and a six. Opener Risinu Kithmuka provided early impetus with a brisk 64 off 47 balls.

‎Chamuditha then capped the innings with a blistering knock of 83 runs off just 31 balls, smashing eight fours and six sixes. The explosive innings came after the young all-rounder had broken batting records at the ICC Youth World Cup, further underlining his immense potential.

‎With both bat and ball, Chamuditha’s outstanding display ensured St. Servatius’ completed a dominant victory.

Latest News

Five Iranian footballers granted Australian visas after anthem protest

Published

4 hours ago

2026/03/10

Priyan

Five members of the Iran women's football team are understood to be claiming asylum [BBC]

Five members of the Iranian women’s football team have been granted humanitarian visas in Australia after their elimination in the Asian Cup, the government in Canberra says.

Immigration Minister Tony Burke said the women “were moved to a safe location” by Australian police. He said other squad members had been told they are welcome to stay in the country.

The women had been due to fly home, but supporters had raised fears for their safety after the team declined to sing the national anthem ahead of their match against South Korea last week.

This prompted criticism in Iran, with one conservative commentator accusing the team of being “wartime traitors” and pushing for harsh punishment.

Australia’s humanitarian visa programme grants permanent protection to refugees and people in humanitarian need. Visa holders can live, work and study in the country.

Speaking early on Tuesday, Burke said the five players were happy for their names to be confirmed as Fatemeh Pasandideh, Zahra Ghanbari, Zahra Sarbali, Atefeh Ramazanzadeh, and Mona Hamoudi.

“They want to be clear they are not political activists. They are athletes who want to be safe,” he said, adding that talks had been going on over several days.

He said that on Monday “it was made clear that there were five women who wanted to be able to stay in Australia”.

The group left their hotel the same day and were moved to a safe location by police.

Burke said he met the women at that location and then signed off for their applications to go onto humanitarian visas – a process completed at about 01:30 local time on Tuesday (15:30 GMT Monday).

“I say to the other members of the team, the same opportunity is there. Australia has taken the Iranian women’s soccer team into our hearts. These women are tremendously popular in Australia.

“But we realise they are in a terribly difficult situation with the decisions that they’re making,” the Australian minister said.

Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese later confirmed that the five players had been given humanitarian visas.

On Sunday evening, hundreds of supporters surrounded the Iranian Lionesses’ coach as it left the stadium on the Gold Coast, with chants of “save our girls”.

On Monday, the BBC witnessed dramatic scenes inside the team’s five- star hotel when several players left the lobby in a group after speaking to activists.

Shortly after they departed, a second group – including a translator and the head coach – burst in looking panicked, and rushed through the hotel before returning to their rooms.

A family member of one of the women – speaking on condition of anonymity – told Australian news site ABC they were being protected by police, and intended to claim asylum.

“I want to kiss the hands of everyone who helped,” the unnamed relative told ABC.

On Monday, US President Donald Trump took to his Truth Social platform to demand action.

Australia should “give asylum” to the women, Trump said in his initial post. “The US will take them if you won’t,” he added.

Around an hour later, Trump posted again to say he had spoken to Australia’s Prime Minister Anthony Albanese and “five have already been taken care of, and the rest are on their way”.

Trump’s post appeared to also suggest some of the team feared for the safety of their families back in Iran and so felt they must “go back”.

“In any event, the Prime Minister is doing a very good job having to do with this rather delicate situation. God bless Australia!” Trump said.

The Trump administration put all asylum decisions on hold at the end of last year, and has stopped issuing immigrant visas for citizens from dozens of countries including Iran. It has said the administration wants to bring “an end to the abuse” of the system.

Last year, two groups of Iranians – including people whose asylum applications had been unsuccessful – were deported from the US back to Iran. The groups reportedly included members of the LGBT community,who face severe legal and social repercussions in Iran.

[BBC]