Sports
Shanika caps a successful year with three meet records for Gampaha
Youth National Championships
by Reemus Fernando
Middle distance runner Shanika Lakshani capped the year 2021 with impressive performances by winning the Under 20 800 metres and the 1500 metres with new meet record marks at the Youth National Championships concluded at the Sugathadasa Stadium.
The Holy Cross College, Gampaha athlete clocked 2:11.27 seconds to win the 800 metres and cruised to a 4:35.55 seconds finish in the 1,500 metres. She was the only athlete to run the latter distance below five minutes to erase the ten-year-old record held by Ratnapura District athlete Chamika Jayamini.
When the Gampaha District won the overall championship of the Youth National Championships for the seventh consecutive year on Wednesday, Lakshani had accounted for three track victories. She was also part of the gold medal-winning 4×400 metres relay team which also established a new meet record of 3:50.56 secs.
Re weiting the record books was expected as the athlete trained by Madhura Perera had already run faster times in both the 800 metres and the 1,500 metres.
Shanika represented Sri Lanka at this year’s Junior World Championships in Nairobi and is the current junior national record holder after smashing one of the oldest athletics records in 2020. She renewed a more than three decades old junior record held by former National Champion Dammika Menike a year ago at the same venue.
Lakshani who represented Sri Lanka at the Asian Youth Athletics Championship in 2019 is among a few dozen school athletes to have continued training despite the pandemic situation during the last two years.
The Youth National Championship concluded on Wednesday saw 12 new meet records being established. Gampaha District athletes accounted for five of them. Lakshima Mendis had a meet to remember as she established a new record in the Under 20 girls’ 400 metres. She clocked 56.00 seconds to win and was adjudged the best athlete in her age category.
Kurunegala District hurdler Kaushalya Dias was adjudged the best athlete for a feat of 14.27 seconds in the Under 20 110 metres hurdles, Kandy District long jumper Yasindu Herath who won the men’s long jump (7.52m) and Kurunegala District hurdler Kaushalya Madushani, the women’s 400 metres hurdles winner were the best athletes in the Over 20 men’s and women’s categories respectively.
by Reemus Fernando
All three Sri Lankan sprinters qualified for the finals of their respective disciplines to give country’s track and field campaign a positive start at the Asian Games on Friday.While Kalinga Kumarage and Aruna Dharshana qualified for the men’s 400 metres final, Asian Championship gold medallist Nadeesha Ramanayake reached the finals of the women’s 400metres.
Ramanayake clocked the third fastest time in the heats to qualify for the finals where Bahrain’s Oluwakemi Kujidat and Salwa Nesar are the strongest contenders for the gold medal.
Competing in the third heat Ramanayake clocked 52.67 seconds to finish second behind Oluwakemi Kujidat. Ramanayake’s time was the third fastest in the heats in the final analysis. While former world champion Salwa Nesar was the winner in the second heat, Shereen Samson of Malaysia won the first heat in a time of 52.89 seconds.
Both Salwa and Oluwakemi Kujidat were not in the fray when Ramanayake won Sri Lanka the gold medal at the recently held Asian Athletics Championship. Ramanayake will have a tough ask today when she competes for Asian Games glory.
In the men’s category 400 metres, Kumarage clocked 45.57 seconds to win his heat, while Aruna Dharshana finished third in his heat in a time of 46.07 seconds.\Kumarage’s 45.54 seconds is the third fastest time in the heats, while Dharshana enters final as the eighth fastest from the heats.
All three sprinters will be eager to create history when they compete in the 400 metres finals. Sri Lanka has not won a medal of any colour in track and field at these Games since 2006.
Sri Lanka won two bronze medals at the Asian Games in Doha. Susanthika Jayasinghe in the women’s 200 metres and the men’s 4×400 metres team of Sugath Thilakaratne, Rohan Pradeep Kumara, Prasanna Amarasekara and Ranga Wimalawansa were the last medallist for Sri Lanka in track and field at these Games.
Superb New Zealand scored an incredible 14 tries and hit 96 points against Italy in Pool A to move to the cusp of the World Cup quarter-finals.
Knowing a defeat would see them eliminated, the All Blacks raced into a pulsating 49-3 half-time lead. They ultimately ran out 96-17 victors with scrum-half Aaron Smith scoring a hat-trick after just 33 minutes.
The All Blacks will guarantee a spot in the knockouts with a win over Uruguay in their final pool match on Thursday. Italy must beat hosts France in their next match to reach a first World Cup quarter-final.
The All Blacks’ win sees them jump up to second in Pool A, level on points with Italy who they now have a superior head-to-head record over.
(BBC)
Kane Williamson’s return to action headlined New Zealand’s first official warmup match of the 2023 World Cup as they hit the right notes with the bat in a high-scoring game in Hyderabad. Mohammad Rizwan (103) and Babar Azam (80) provided a good platform and the middle order got amongst the runs to help Pakistan post 345. The total, however, proved insufficient as New Zealand, led by Rachin Ravindra’s 97 and three other half-century scores, including that of Williamson, pulled off the chase with 6.2 overs to spare
After Devon Conway was dismissed by Hasan Ali for a golden duck, Ravindra and Williamson got together and added 179 runs in just 22 overs to power New Zealand’s chase. Williamson decided to retire after crossing fifty while Ravindra was dismissed by Agha Salman before he could get a ton. Usama Mir then picked up the wickets of Tom Latham and Glenn Phillips in quick succession but fifties from Mark Chapman and Daryl Mitchell, and an important 33 from James Neesham, helped New Zealand over the line in the 44th over.
Earlier, After opting to bat, Pakistan lost Imam-ul-Haq in the second over to Matt Henry while Mitch Santner had Abdullah Shafique out stumped. Babar, who started watchfully, found his groove while Rizwan also scored at a steady rate as they raised a century partnership to set things up nicely for Pakistan. Babar, however, missed a hundred while Rizwan retired after reaching three figures, giving Pakistan’s lower middle order some time out in the middle. Saud Shakeel (75) and Agha Salman (33*) came up with handy contributions to propel Pakistan past 340.
Brief scores:
Pakistan 345/5 in 50 overs (Mohammad Rizwan 103, Babar Azam 80; Mitch Santner 2-39) lost to New Zealand 346/5 in 43.4 overs (Rachin Ravindra 97, Mark Chapman 65; Usama Mir 2-68) by 5 wickets
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