Sports

School girls fight for Asian Games berths in the women’s 400 metres

Published

4 years ago

2022/04/23

The duel between Nadeesha Ramanayake (left) and Tharushi Karunaratne will be one of the main attractions when the postponed events of the 100th National Athletics Championship is held at Diyagama today.

by Reemus Fernando

Men’s and women’s javelin throws and the 100 and 400 metres sprints are the main attractions when the postponed disciplines of the centenary National Athletics Championships are held at Diyagama today.

Sri Lanka Athletics had to postpone as many as 12 disciplines of the centenary National Championship to April 23 after almost the entire final day of the landmark event was affected by rain at Diyagama on April 10.

For the second consecutive national championship, school girls will be the closest rivals that defending champion Nadeesha Ramanayake has to compete against in the women’s 400 metres. In the 400 metres heats held on April 9th, Ramanayake clocked 53.73 seconds to win her heat. Apart from Ramanayake all others who clocked sub 56 seconds and the winners in the other heats were school girls. In the absence of Dilshi Kumarasinghe, who is nursing an injury, Ramanayake is the only senior contender. Kumarasinghe’s absence had forced athletics selectors to rethink fielding a mix relay team for the Asian Games.

The Sri Lanka Athletics had planned to field a mix relay team when the new discipline makes its quadrennial Games debut. But the injury to Kumarasinghe has raised concerns. Kumarasinghe’s training partner, young Tharushi Karunaratne of Ratnayake Central is currently punching above her weight and is expected to produce an interesting dual. It will be interesting to see whether she could deliver something special today. At the last Trial held in March Karunaratne turned tables on Ramanayake. Irrespective of the performances there is the prospect of a couple of school girls getting the nod for the Asian Games if Sri Lanka Athletics pick a women’s 4×400 metres relay team.

Jayeshi Uththara who returned a time of 54.96 seconds and Lakshima Mendis (55.74 secs) are the others who will be vying for honours in the women’s 400 metres.

The men’s 400 metres is heading towards an interesting finish with the Asian Junior Championship medallists Anura Dharshana and Pabasara Niku producing the fast performances in the heats. Niku clocked 46.99 seconds in the heats and the country’s fastest time this year belongs to Dharshana who clocked 46.37 seconds in the Trial held in March. Sri Lanka Athletics is however looking for sub 46 seconds to pick an athlete for the individual event at the Asian Games. The only athletes to run sub 46 seconds during the last five years are Dharshana and Kumarge. The latter running in the slowest heat of the day had a time of 48.09 seconds on April 10. Have they gained enough speed during the last 12 days to match the qualifying standards of 45.70 seconds is the big question?

Olympian Sumedha Ranasinghe is the only athlete to have reached locally set qualifying standards for the Asian Games in the men’s category. His 81.79 metres mark recorded in March is the third furthest throw in Asia this year. He will be eager to come up with strong performances today to further establish his place as an international medal prospect. Apart from Sumedha, the US based high jumper Ushan Thivanka is the only athlete in the men’s category to have reached qualifying standards for the Asian event.

In the women’s Javelin throw Dilhani Lekamge will be looking to reach the 58 metres mark and will be up against a field inclusive of up an coming H.D. Maduwanthi and Olympian Nadeeka Lakmali.

The men’s 100 metres heats were held without the two fastest men. While former national record holder Himasha Eshan remains suspended, current record holder Yupun Abeykoon is based in Italy. In their absence Chamod Yodhasinghe heads into today’s final rounds as the favourite. His was the fastest time in the heats.

The women’s 100 metres is expected to be a contest between Shelinda Jansen, Amesha de Silva and Medhani Jayamanne. De Silva is the favourite. She clocked 11.63 seconds in the heats and would be gunning for the 11.40 seconds to qualify for the Asian Games.

The men’s triple jump, women’s high jump, women’s shot put and the men’s 1,500 metres are the other events that will be held today.

Meanwhile the special trial will be held for the men’s long jump after athletes raised objections against the standard of the take off board used at the National Championships. An official said that the result of the men’s long jump at the National Championship will not be changed. The men’s long jump event will be held as a separate event and will only be considered for selections.

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Sports

Sri Lanka series vital World Cup tune-up for Pakistan – Agha

Published

2 hours ago

2026/01/7

Sahan Weerasooriya

Pakistan captain Salman Ali Agha and his Sri Lankan counterpart Dasun Shanaka pose with the trophy ahead of the three match T20I series in Dambulla on Tuesday.

Pakistan captain Salman Ali Agha says the three-match T20I series against Sri Lanka will serve as a dress rehearsal ahead of the T20 World Cup, with the former champions set to play all their tournament games in the island.

The series gets underway in Dambulla on Wednesday, with the remaining two matches scheduled for Friday and Sunday at the same venue.

With diplomatic relations between Pakistan and India strained, Pakistan will play the World Cup under the hybrid model, featuring exclusively in Sri Lanka. Should they go the distance, both their semi-final and final will be staged in Colombo.

Although Dambulla is not a World Cup venue, Agha believes the series offers his side a golden opportunity to play in similar conditions and test their bench strength.

“We are playing all our World Cup games in Sri Lanka and this series will help us get familiar with the conditions,” Agha told reporters on Tuesday. “We do travel here often, but playing a competitive series just before the World Cup is ideal, especially as some of our players haven’t played much cricket here.”

Pakistan will be without several marquee names, with Babar Azam, Shaheen Shah Afridi, Mohammad Rizwan and Haris Rauf currently plying their trade in Australia’s Big Bash League.

“They are mega stars and they’ve done well for us. We will miss them, no doubt,” Agha said. “But this is also an opportunity to try out new players and hopefully they will put their hands up.”

One boost for Pakistan is the return of all-rounder Shadab Khan, back in action after being sidelined since June last year with injury.

Sri Lanka, meanwhile, will be led by Dasun Shanaka, who has been handed the captaincy through to the World Cup. The skipper admitted there are areas to fix after a mixed run in recent months.

“Our top order has done well in the last few series, but we need to sort out the middle order,” Shanaka said. “There were a few lapses and we are keen to address them before the World Cup. One key area was our strike rate between overs six and 15. We’ve worked on it during training and now we need to execute it in the middle.”

Shanaka also explained the recall of all-rounder Dhananjaya de Silva, who returns to the T20 setup after a two-year absence.

“We needed someone who can steady the innings,” Shanaka said. “If he can hold things together, others can play their shots around him. He also gives us a bowling option and in our conditions spin is key.”

Pakistan Squad:

Salman Ali Agha (captain), Abdul Samad, Abrar Ahmad, Faheem Ashraf, Fakhar Zaman, Khawaja Nafay, Mohammad Nawaz, Mohammad Salman Mirza, Mohammad Wasim Jnr, Naseem Shah, Sahibzada Farhan, Saim Ayub, Shadab Khan, Usman Khan and Usman Tariq.

Sri Lanka Squad:

Dasun Shanaka (captain), Pathum Nissanka, Kamil Mishara, Kusal Mendis, Kusal Perera, Dhananjaya de Silva, Charith Asalanka, Janith Liyanage, Kamindu Mendis, Wanindu Hasaranga, Dunith Wellalage, Maheesh Theekshana, Dushan Hemantha, Traveen Mathew, Dushmantha Chameera, Matheesha Pathirana, Nuwan Thushara, Eshan Malinga.

Sports

SSC-Yeti Tennis Tourney from January 9

Published

2 hours ago

2026/01/7

Sahan Weerasooriya

From left: Malik Perera (CEO, Yeti), Nishelli Perera (Co-founder, Yeti), Dr. Dilshan Balasuriya (Co-founder, Yeti), Chammika De Silva (Secretary, SSC Tennis) and Asiri Iddamalgoda (Chairman, SSC Tennis)

The Yeti-SSC Open Tennis Championship, one of the most prestigious and long-standing national tennis tournaments, will be held from January 9 to 25 at the SSC Courts in Maitland Place.

The 2026 Yeti-SSC Open Championship will feature a comprehensive line-up of events including Boys’ and Girls’ Singles and Doubles (Under-12 to Under-18), Men’s and Women’s Singles, Doubles and Mixed Doubles as well as Veterans categories (Over 35, 45 and 55).

The SSC Open Championships are officially recognised as a Category 1 National Ranking Tournament sanctioned by the Sri Lanka Tennis Association (SLTA) and traditionally mark the commencement of Sri Lanka’s annual competitive tennis calendar.

The 2026 edition is expected to draw more than 1,000 junior and senior participants, further reinforcing its position as one of the country’s most eagerly awaited tennis events.

The tournament is set to showcase thrilling performances from leading national players including the current Men’s national champion Apna Perera, Women’s national champion Dinara De Silva, Davis Cup players Ashen Silva and Thehan Wijemanne, as well as top-ranked juniors such as Ganuka Fernando (Boys’ Under-18) and Sandithi Usgodaarachchi(Girls’ Under-18), among many other prominent competitors.

Sports

Seba force a draw after Joes dominate

Published

2 hours ago

2026/01/7

Sahan Weerasooriya

Under 19 Cricket

An unbeaten century in the first innings and a half century in the second by Adesh Almeida and valuable contributions in the second innings from Koshendra Fernando and Chamath Wellalage helped St. Sebastians’ force a draw to their Under 19 encounter against St. Joseph’s at Moratuwa on Tuesday.

‎Nushan Perera and Vishwa Peiris were responsible for most of the damage as they took theJoes almost close to an innings victory.

‎Forced to follow on, the Sebs were heading for a possible defeat but number ten batsman Navinu Fernando kept his cool to bat through to the finish. He faced more than 20 balls to score four runs not out.

‎Match Results

‎Sebs force a draw at Moratuwa

‎Scores

‎St. Joseph’s 344 all out in 79.1 overs

(Yenula Danthanarayana 74, Aveesha Samash 52, Rishma Amarasinghe 90, Chethina Kavinda 70, Dilpa Ruwanaka 28; Koshendra Fernando 5/115, Shenash Hashein 3/51, Navinu Fernando 2/65)

‎St. Sebastians’ 37 for 3 overnight 192 all out in 59.1 overs (Adesh Almeida 105n.o., Koshendra Fernando 45; Nushan Perera 6/38, Disinu Samarasinghe 2/68,

‎Vishwa Peiris 2/58) and 151 for 9 in 54 overs (Chamath Wellalage 33, Adesh Almeida 50, Koshendra Fernando 22; Nushan Perera 3/59, Vishwa Peiris 6/50)

‎Petes earn first innings points against Royal at Bambalapitiya

‎Scores

‎Royal 347 all out in 80 overs

(Rehan Peiris 125, Thevindu Wewalwala 20, Manuth Dasanayake 71, Himaru Deshan 58; Thenura Dissanayake 2/74, Janith Panditharathne 6/103) and 71 for no loss in 22 overs

‎St. Peter’s 54 for 2 overnight 361 for 6 in 80 overs

(Asadisa de Silva 134, Shavidu Silva 53, Joshua Sebastian 93, Enosh Peterson 31n.o., Sadeesha Silva 33n.o.; Sehandu Sooriyaarachchi 3/50, Ramiru Perera 2/98)

‎

‎No decision at Asgiriya

‎Scores

‎Trinity 153 all out in 52.3 overs (Praveen Mithila 47, Santhosh Kritheekshan 34; Geeth Sandaruwan 3/33, Thenuja Rashmin 3/35, Venura Kaveethra 2/34)

‎Mahanama 5 for 1 overnight 101 for 3 in 37 overs

(Venura Kaveethra 42n.o., Sanul Weerarathne 32n.o., Kaushika Thilakarathne 19)

‎

‎Cambrians take first innings honours against Nalanda at Campbell Place

‎Scores

‎Nalanda 226 all out in 79 overs

(Nadul Jayalath 25, Santhul Wijerathna 46, Nemindu Akmeemana 27, Osanda Pamuditha 66, Dunitha Anusara 40; Nadul Aponso 6/53, Nethul Anuhas 4/67) and 101 for 7 in 33 overs (Shehan Ashein 5/20)

‎Prince of Wales 50 for no loss overnight 303 for 9 in 80 overs

(Palingu Perera 33, Suwas Fernando 63, Oshan de Silva 43, Gaveesha Fernando 59, Pasan Cooray 51; Osanda Pamuditha 2/32, Malsha Fernando 2/65) (RF)

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