Sports
Relay team carry weight of expectations to World Junior Athletics Championships
By Reemus Fernando
Irrespective of meager returns Sri Lanka Athletics has continued to field teams for international events conducted by World Athletics. This has stood in good stead for athletes to gain competition exposure at the highest level. At the junior level, the experience has provided an extra motivation to remain in this sport. Asian Games medallist Tharushi Karunaratne’s is a case in point. She took part in two World Junior Championships before ending a gold medal drought in track and field sports at the Asian Games.
When the Sri Lanka junior athletics team leave for Lima, Peru for the World Junior Athletics Championship this week, they will not only continue the tradition of representing the country at the highest level but will also create a piece of history. The 12 member team captained by Ananda College sprinter Merone Wijesinghe is the biggest contingent to a World Junior Championship in the history of the biennial event first held in 1986. The team’s departure remained uncertain until the eleventh hour due to lack of funds. But sanity has prevailed after Sri Lanka Athletics mustered the support of the government authorities to fund the costly journey.
The boys’ 4×100 metres team carry huge expectations as they depart for Lima as the eighth fastest relay team in the world this year in their age category (and the sixth fastest as a nation). Their silver winning time of 39.81 seconds at the Asian Junior Championship in Dubai (in April) is ranked above some of the power houses of athletics in the world. Alongside Merone Wijesinghe, fellow Ananda College sprinter Indusara Vidushan, Leeds International, Matara sprinter Induwara Weeraratne and Kaushan Thamel of De Mazenod College, Kandana became the first Sri Lankan Under 20 quartet to have clocked sub 40 seconds in the 100 metres relay early this year. It will be an uphill task for them to achieve a podium finish. Featuring in the final will be a huge accomplishment for them. Wijesinghe and Weeraratne who shared the first and second places at the Junior National Championship will compete in the 100 metres as well. Mahinda College, Galle sprinter Ayesh Mihiranga is the other member in the relay team. Mihiranga’s schoolmate Jathya Kirulu will feature in the 400 metres.
Kirulu is the only member from the Asian Junior Championship bronze-winning 4×400 metres team to have earned a place in the team after he clocked 47.28 seconds at the Junior National Championship.
Thamel and Vidushan who both improved the Under 20 200 metres meet record at the Junior National Championship will be featuring in the 200 metres as well.
Ananda College athlete Lesandu Arthavidu (formerly of D.S. Senanayake College) and Lyceum International athlete Tharusha Mendis will compete in the high jump. Both are in the top ten in their age category in Asia.
Lyceum hurdler Sandun Kosala who has a performance of 14.17 seconds over the 99.0cm hurdle in the 110m hurdles and the Commonwealth Youth Games medalist Ayomal Akalanka of Ambagamuwa Central (400m Hurdles) are the other athletes in the boys’ category. Akalanka is in the top 20 in Asia this year.
Nannapurawa MV, Bibila athlete Madushani Herath who won the triple jump silver medal at the Asian Junior Athletics Championships will feature in both the long jump and the triple jump. She is the only athlete to have reached qualifying standards for two individual events. After Asian Games medalist Tharushi Karunaratne, Herath is the brightest prospect to emerge from the junior category as she has turned tables on experienced campaigners at senior level as well. Currently she is ranked sixth overall in the senior category for her prowess in jumping events.
Lyceum International sprinter Jithma Wijethunga is the other athlete in the girls’ category in the team. She is the only junior athlete to have clocked sub 55 seconds in the girls’ 400 metres this year.
The team is set to depart in three batches for Lima.
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IPL 2025: Kohli, Patidar and Krunal star as Royal Challengers Bengaluru end ten-year Wankhede jinx
In what is turning out to be a year of breaking jinxes, Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB) defeated Mumbai Indians (MI) at the Wankhede Stadium for the first time in ten years after they did the same in the corresponding fixture against Chennai Super Kings for the first time in 17 years at the Chepauk stadium.
Even though RCB scored 221, the win didn’t come without a massive scare from Hardik Pandya and Tilak Verma, who added 89 in 34 balls from 99 for 4 in 12 overs. With 123 off eight overs reduced to 41 off the last three, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Josh Hazelwood and Krunal Pandya put on a defensive masterclass to deny MI.
Rajat Patidar and Virat Kohli scored quick fifties before a finishing kick from Jitesh Sharma took them to 221 despite Jasprit Bumrah’s return and three excellent overs from Hardik. It was Kohli’s fastest T20 fifty since 2019, and his first in under 30 balls in the IPL since 2018. His intent allowed Patidar to get off to a watchful start before he took apart Hardik, who had stifled the other batters.
By no means was the target beyond MI’s reach, but Hazlewood and Suyash Sharma bowled their first five overs for just 21 runs to leave MI with just a 2.25% chance of winning on the ESPNcricinfo forecaster at the end of the 12th over. Hardik’s sensational 42 off 15 and Tilak’s 29-ball 56 turned it into an even contest, but Bhuvneshwar and Hazlewood nailed enough yorkers in the 18th and 19th overs to give Krunal 18 to defend in the last over. He consigned his brother’s team to a second straight defeat by 12 runs.
For the 31st time in the IPL, Trent Boult struck in the first over of an innings, but Devdutt Padikkal hit his first ball for a four. The intent never stopped as RCB reached 73 after the powerplay. Kohli took 36 off 19, Padikkal 32 off 15. Kohli usually drops anchor but he took on the spinners with slog sweeps in the seventh and the ninth over to get to fifty in 29 balls.
Vignesh Puthur’s left-arm wristspin got the wicket of Padikkal for 37 off 22, but it was Hardik’s wide lines that suffocated RCB in the middle. Kohli still kept attempting big hits, allowing Patidar to be watchful for a start of 8 off 10.
Patidar then managed to move across and take Hardik for runs and rearranged Mitchell Santner’s figures with 20 off his last over. It was here that Hardik’s wide lines brought him the wickets of Kohli and Liam Livingstone in the same over to make it 144 for 5 with 33 balls to go.
Two of the remaining five overs were going to be bowled by Bumrah, making his comeback from a back injury that has kept him out since the first week of January. So RCB needed to score heavily at the other end. Patidar did so off Hardik, taking 33 off 12 to ruin his figures to 4-0-45-2. Jitesh took 24 off eight off Boult to consign him to his costliest T20 analysis of 4-0-57-2. Bumrah went for only 14 in the 18th and 20th overs, but RCB believed they had done enough damage.
That belief was only reinforced when Hazlewood’s impeccable lengths and Suyash’s unusual action troubled the MI top order. Hazlewood took Ryan Rickleton out thanks to an inspired DRS review from Jitesh before conceding just two in the final over of the powerplay. Suryakumar Yadav was the one caught in the spotlight. He was 8 off 13 after this over and one from Suyash. To make matters for MI, Suryakumar was dropped twice as he and Will Jacks added just 41 in six overs. When they finally caught Suryakumar at the end of the 12th over, MI needed what would have been the second-highest successful target achieved in the last eight overs of an IPL match.
Tilak, who was retired out in MI’s last game, kept Hardik off strike for seven balls, but in these seven balls he took 17 off Suyash’s last over, much like Patidar took the last overs of Santner and Hardik for a plenty. When Hardik finally got strike, he hit the coldest and sweetest of boundaries to turn the game around in just seven balls. These seven balls featured two sixes and two fours off Hazlewood, and two sixes off brother Krunal.
With Hardik 32 off 7, the ask was now 71 off 33. A bit of gamesmanship followed to try to break Hardik’s rhythm, but MI kept going strong. Bhuvneshwar started the next over well, but Tilak hit a six and a four to take 13 off it. Still, only a little over two a ball was required. Yash Dayal managed to escape with some slower balls, but again a late six kept MI in it.
Bhuvneshwar and Hazlewood now dealt almost exclusively in yorkers. When they missed even slightly, runs came: a Hardik four, a Naman Dhir six first ball and a Santner six off a low full toss from Hazlewood.
Still, MI needed 19 off the last over, and Krunal denied Santner and Deepak Chahar just enough power for them to be caught on the boundary. Krunal’s 4-0-45-4 were his best IPL figures.
Brief Scores:
Royal Challengers Bengaluru 221/5 in 20 overs (Virat Kohli 67, Devdutt Padikkal 37, Rajat Patidar 64, Jitesh Sharma 40*; Trent Boult 2-57, Hardik Pandya 2-45, Vignesh Puthur 1-10, Jasprit Bumrah 0-29) beat Mumbai Indians 209/9 in 20 overs (Rohit Sharma 17, Ryan Rickelton 17, Will Jacks 22, Suryakumar Yadav 28, Tilak Varma 56, Hardik Pandya 42, Naman Dhir 11; Bhuveneshwar Kumar 1-48, Yash Dayal 2-46, Josh Hazelwood 2-37, Krunal Pandya 4-45) by 12 runs
[Cricinfo]
With just one round left in the group stage, Dambulla hit the top of the National Super League (NSL) table like a runaway train, pulling off a breathtaking run chase that left Kandy shell-shocked at the R. Premadasa Stadium. In a high-octane encounter that had lot of twists, Dambulla played out of their skins to snatch victory from the jaws of what looked like certain defeat.
Chasing a towering 392 in just 69 overs, the Dambulla batters threw caution to the wind and came out swinging. They crossed the finish line with 25 balls to spare, making the improbable seem routine.
At the top of the order, Nishan Madushka dropped anchor and played the sheet anchor role to perfection, compiling a masterful 126 off 153 balls. He stitched together a solid 136-run opening stand with Ron Chandraguptha, who chipped in with a stylish 64, laying the perfect foundation for the fireworks to follow.
But the real show-stopper was none other than Dasun Shanaka. Despite being courted by a slew of T20 leagues flashing big bucks, Shanaka stayed loyal to red-ball cricket — and he makes it count. He walked in with the scoreboard ticking and turned the game on its head with a whirlwind century off just 56 deliveries. It was a blitzkrieg that featured nine sizzling boundaries and six towering sixes. When Shanaka’s in the zone, bowlers might as well be bowling with a bar of soap.
From 286 for 1, Dambulla had a minor hiccup, losing quick wickets and stumbling to 326 for 5. But the damage had been done — Shanaka’s thunderous assault had knocked the stuffing out of the Kandy attack. All that remained was for the tail to wag, nudge a few singles, and coast home with room to spare.
Akila Dananjaya, meanwhile, continued to turn heads with a match bag of ten wickets. But while his performance was eye-catching, any talk of a national recall should come with a pinch of salt — his action, having been under the microscope before, will need a clean bill of health before selectors roll the dice.
Down south in Hambantota, Galle all but booked their ticket to the final, thanks to a first-innings win over Jaffna. Unless they somehow manage to shoot themselves in the foot in their last group game, they should be packing their bags for the final.
Ramesh Mendis played the unlikely hero, batting at number eight and top-scoring with a gutsy 124 to take Galle to 374, well past Jaffna’s 305.
Jaffna’s response in the second innings was spirited, with Angelo Mathews rolling back the years and crafting a classy century as they made 354 for five.
Rain played spoil sport with only 6.4 overs possible on day one and a further 55 overs on day two and that left little room for a result.
North Korea has held the Pyongyang International Marathon for the first time in six years, welcoming some 200 foreign runners to the streets of the reclusive country’s capital.
The marathon, which was launched in 1981, took place annually in April to celebrate the birth of its founding leader Kim Il Sung.
Before Sunday’s marathon, the race was last held in 2019, wherein 950 foreigners participated. North Korea sealed itself off the following year, when the Covid-19 pandemic hit.
North Korea has been slow to reopen since, allowing only Russian tourists into its capital since last year.
Runners have had to enter the country as part of an organised tour group, as was the case before the pandemic.
Koryo Tours, a Beijing-based travel agency listed as an “exclusive partner” on the event website, offers six-day marathon tours at 2,195 euros ($2,406) including flights to and from Beijing.
“The Pyongyang Marathon is an extremely unique experience as it provides an opportunity to interact with locals,” the agency wrote on its website.
Sunday’s marathon route took participants past landmarks across the city, including the Kim Il Sung stadium, the Arch of Triumph built to commemorate Kim Il Sung’s role in resisting Japanese rule, and the Mirae Future Scientists’ Street said to be a residential district for scientists and engineers.
Pictures online show the stadium – where runners start and finish their race – filled with spectators, many of them cheering and waving gold-coloured paper flags.
Pak Kum Dong, a North Korean runner, told Reuters news agency: “The eyes of our people on me helped me to bear the difficulties whenever I feel tired.”
There is no publicly available information on race results.
North Korea had only statred to scale back Covid-19 restrictions in the middle of 2023.
In Feburary, it allowed some Western tourists into the remote, eastern city Rason, but suspended those tours just weeks after.
[BBC]
IPL 2025: Kohli, Patidar and Krunal star as Royal Challengers Bengaluru end ten-year Wankhede jinx
Sun directly overhead Nainamadama, Sandalankawa, Kundasale, Mahiyanganaya and Kalmunanai at about 12:12 noon today [08]
Showers or thundershowers will occur in Western and North-western provinces and Galle and Matara district in the morning and at most places of the island during the afternoon or night
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