Sports
Record breaker Summa
Barrier Breakers
Sumanthiran Navaratnam a.k.a. Summa Navaratnam had a penchant to break records. Being a nonagenarian itself is a record. He is 96 years old and is the oldest living Sri Lankan Athlete. He was born on 21st May 1925.
He is the son of the late S.S. Navaratnam of the former Ceylon Civil Service and K.T Navaratnam nee Ratnam, daughter of Dr. C.S. Ratnam, Provincial Surgeon. His Civil Servant father wanted his son to obtain a Public School education, hence chose Royal College, Colombo for his son to attend.
Summa cut his teeth in athletics at a tender age of 12 years. At a young age of 15 years (1940) he was awarded Royal College athletics colours. To date he is the youngest athlete to achieve this at Royal – another record. In 1939 he became the Champion Junior Athlete at the Royal College Inter-House Athletic meet by winning the Best Performance Award in 
the Under 14 age category and the following year in the Under 16 age category. He won the 200 meters and 400 meters at the Public Schools Athletic meet with excellent timings and was also a member of the 4×100 meters relay winning quartet, all in 1943. He captained the Royal College athletics team in both 1942 and 1943.
In 1944, representing the Royal College Old Boys Athletics team at the National Amateur Athletics Association (AAA) Championships, Summa won the sprint double in the 100m and 200m events. He was the national 100m champion in meets held in 1944, 1946 and 1947. He was also awarded the Wilton Bartleet Trophy for the Best Individual Performance in these years. He also won the 100m at the National Championships in 1951. In 1953 he ran the 100 meters with the Asian Champion Lavy Pinto (Goa, India) and they were both timed at 11.0 sec, however Lavy Pinto was determined the winner. Summa also won the 200 meters event at the 1944 and 1946 National Championships.
As an up and coming champion young athlete he was included in the 4×100 meter relay team to compete in the Indo-Ceylon Dual Athletic Meet in 1945. This team included outstanding athletes Duncan White, R.E. Kitto and Basil Henricus.
In 1953 Summa participated in the Madras Provincial Olympic Games. He returned a timing of 10.4 seconds, which was the fastest timing, recorded on a grass track in Asia and was dubbed as the ‘fastest man in Asia’. In this event he beat the Indian National Champion Ivan Jacobs, who was the favorite for the event. Yours truly was an undergraduate at the University of Ceylon, Peradeniya and when we read this in the newspapers at that time, we jumped up in joy. However there were some critiques in the athletic circles; they mentioned that you cannot depend on individual timekeepers, even though this was the official and accepted method of recording at that time even in most of the International Athletic Meets. (Auto timing was used only from the 1952 Olympics.) This was an amazing record and feat for an athlete from Ceylon.
Due to nepotism on part of certain officials he was not selected to represent Ceylon in the 1948 Olympics in London and the 1952 Olympics in Helsinki. At the 1948 London Olympics the winning time of the 100 meters was 10.3 seconds, which was achieved by Harrison Dillard of the USA. Silver medalist Barney Ewell clocked 10.4 seconds and Bronze medalist Lloyd LaBeach of Panama was also timed at 10.4 seconds. At the 1952 Helsinki Olympic Games the 100 meters Gold medalist was Lindy Remigino (USA) was timed at 10.79 seconds, Silver medalist Herbert McKenley (Jamaica) returned 10.8 seconds and Bronze medalist McDonald Bailey (Great Britain) clocked in at 10.83 seconds (all via auto electric timing).
In 1950, Summa had the honor of representing Ceylon at the British Empire Games held in Aukland, New Zealand. He competed in the 100 yards and 4×100 yards events.
In 1953 Summa started his Athletics Coaching career and did it for his alma mater Royal College.
The Ceylon contingent to the 1962 Jakarta Asian Games had five athletes he coached, i.e., Darrel Lieversz (400m), Lakshman de Alwis the school boy athlete from Moratu Vidyalaya, who later became the national champion (100m, 200m), Nirmali Dissanayake (100m, 200m) – she became the first female athlete to win an Asian Games medal for Ceylon, when she won the bronze medal, Lorraine Rutnam (100m, 200m) and Jilska Flamer Caldera (80m Hurdles).
By 1955 Summa decided to retire from competitive Athletics but continued playing Rugby Football for the CR & FC and All Ceylon. If not for the nepotism of certain officials in the athletic administration at that time, Summa would have won greater honor at international athletic meets including the British Empire Games and the Olympics.
He is married to Romaine and they have two children Kendle and Nadine.
We wish Summa a very happy 96th birthday, staying safe and well.
(K.L.F. Wijedasa – Former National Champion and record holder in the 100 metres)
In a diplomatic innings off the field, former Sri Lanka captain and 1996 World Cup hero Sanath Jayasuriya has made a heartfelt pitch to Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi, urging his support to build an international cricket ground in Jaffna – a region teeming with raw, untapped talent.
The iconic Sri Lankan side that pulled off a fairy-tale triumph in the 1996 Cricket World Cup – scalping heavyweights like India in the semi-final and Australia in the final – was invited by the Indian High Commission in Colombo to meet the visiting Prime Minister. Modi, a self-confessed cricket aficionado, is currently on a three-day state visit to Sri Lanka.
While six members of the World Cup-winning squad were missing – either abroad on business or deep in the trenches of the Indian Premier League – the rest of the squad turned up for the high-profile meet at Colombo’s popular Taj Samudra Hotel.
“We had about 45 minutes with the Prime Minister, and it became clear early in the conversation that he’s not just a statesman but also a true cricket tragic,” said Jayasuriya, the Player of the Series in 1996 and now Head Coach of the Sri Lankan team, speaking to Telecom Asia Sport. “It gave us the perfect opportunity to thank him for India’s unwavering support during our economic collapse – when we were batting on a sticky wicket.”
The conversation then took a turn towards development and legacy.
“Sanath seized the moment and floated the idea of building an international-standard cricket ground in the north or east of the country,” said Marvan Atapattu, another former Test captain and Head Coach.
“He told the PM that the north and east are brimming with talent. But without proper infrastructure, those future stars are left playing in the rough. The PM was all ears. He nodded, said he’d take it to his team, and would get back to us.”
The meeting ended on a sentimental note. Aravinda de Silva, the architect of Sri Lanka’s historic World Cup final win, handed over a special souvenir to Prime Minister Modi – a commemorative box of medallions, each bearing the signature of the entire 1996 squad.
India and Sri Lanka, bound by geography and a shared cricketing heartbeat, have long been partners both on and off the field. Their friendship stretches back centuries, with recent years seeing a tightening of bilateral ties. Several new agreements were inked during the Indian Prime Minister’s visit.
In the cricketing realm, India has played a pivotal role in Sri Lanka’s journey. It was India that championed Sri Lanka’s Test status in 1981, and welcomed the islanders for a Test Match in Madras the following year.
Now, as both nations prepare to co-host the 2026 ICC T20 World Cup, the hope is that this partnership will grow from strength to strength.
(Telecom Asia Sport)
Kandy Sports Club survived some anxious moments against a fighting CR&FC outfit before winning the Clifford Cup final with a 41 points to 33 win in the decider which was worked off at Nittawela grounds in Kandy on Sunday (yesterday).
Kandy SC played attacking rugby in both halves of the game and scored five tries, five conversions and a penalty, but CR were hot on the heels of the Kandy side and responded with five tries and four conversions. Kandy led 17-14 at half time.
The game began with a bang with Kandy SC scoring early in the game with a try by Diluksha Dange and a penalty and conversion by Nigel Ratwatte. But that lead for Kandy was short lived because CR’s Chamod Muthunayake sliced through the Kandy defence with a jinxing run and ended up under the posts. Murshid Doray’s conversion coming right gave indications that it would be a long day for Kandy.
CR pressed with their forwards and earned a try through Omalka Guneratne. But Kandy were in no surrendering mood and snatched the lead back with a peach of a try by Ratwatte, who retired from rugby on Sunday after playing his final game.
Kandy kept rolling with their forwards and earned their third try after half time when Kenula Hettiarachchi went over off a forwards rush. Ratwatte’s conversion put the winners ahead by ten points with the scores reading Kandy 24 as against CR’s14.
CR hit back strongly at this stage of the game and produced two vital tries through Omalka Guneratne and Murshid Doray and saw that their team was only trailing Kandy by a point. It was at this stage that the game got a bit out of hand in the middle, but referee Gihan Yatawara steadied proceedings by offering two yellow cards to CR and one to Kandy. The referee was clearly heard barking out orders to both sides to maintain discipline.
Kandy’s replacement player Dilshad Fareed smashed his way to a try with the game eight minutes away from full time. Zumry made a classis touchline conversion. But CR made one last gasp attempt to wrestle control of the game with a try by Manika Ruberu. Doray added the extra points and gave some hope for CR who were now just point behind Kandy. But when it seemed like everyone was struggling to produce the next try, scrum half Heshan Jansen ran through the CR defence to score close to the posts and seal the game for Kandy.
By A Special Sports Correspondent
The highly anticipated 91st Battle of the Saints cricket encounter between St. Joseph’s College and St. Peter’s College, sponsored by Dialog Axiata PLC, concluded in a tame draw at the SSC Grounds on Saturday.
St. Joseph’s resumed day two at 150-3, chasing St. Peter’s first innings total of
243. Despite Yenula Dewthusa’s composed knock of 86, which anchored the Josephian innings, they failed to capitalize fully on their solid overnight position. Dewthusa formed crucial partnerships of 91 runs with Senuja Wakunugoda (48) for the fourth wicket and a further 64 runs with Rishma Amarasinghe (27) for the fifth—but the Josephian batting order couldn’t push for a substantial lead, declaring at 240-7.
Joshua Sebastian emerged as the pick of the Peterite bowlers, claiming four wickets for 80 runs, while Lashmika Perera provided excellent support with figures of 3 for 64.
Under pressure to set a challenging target, St. Peter’s faltered dramatically in the second innings, losing three wickets for just 29 runs before collapsing further to 30-4. Nathan David offered resistance with a fighting half-century (53), while Jason Fernando contributed 45, but the Peterite middle order struggled against Maanasa Madubashana’s devastating spell of 5-57.
St. Peter’s were event)lly dismissed for 168, setting St. Joseph’s a modest victory target of 172. However, with limited overs remaining, the Josephians managed only 70-2 when stumps were drawn, with Abishek Jayaweera unbeaten on 31.
Special Awards
Best Fielder:
Senuja Wakunugoda (St. Joseph’s)
Best Bowler:
Manasa Madubashana (St. Joseph’s)
Best Batsman:
Nathan David (St. Peter’s)
Best All-rounder:
Lashmika Perera (St. Peter’s)
Man of the Match:
Yenula Dewthusa (St. Joseph’s)
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