Sports

Shanika caps a successful year with three meet records for Gampaha

Published

4 years ago

2021/12/23

Sahan Weerasooriya

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.

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Kapila Wijegunawardena to head SLC’s new selection committee

Published

33 mins ago

2026/05/21

Priyan

The Ministry of Youth Affairs and Sports has issued a statement approving the members nominated for the new Selection Committee of Sri Lanka Cricket (SLC).

The appointments have been made by the Sports Minister in accordance with the powers vested under Section 39 (1) of the Sports Law No. 25 of 1973 and the Extraordinary Gazette Notification No. 2437/24 dated May 21, 2025.

The members of the new selection committee are:

Kapila Wijegunawardena – Chairman

Amal Silva – Member

Brendon Kuruppu – Member

Waruna Waragoda – Member

Vanessa De Silva – Member

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Afghanistan refugee women’s team set for England tour under ECB initiative

Published

47 mins ago

2026/05/21

Priyan

The visiting Afghanistan women's team will also attend the final of the Women's T20 World Cup

The England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB) will host an Afghanistan Refugee Women’s Team for a tour beginning on June 22. The programme will include T20 matches and high-performance training opportunities and will be delivered in partnership with the Marylebone Cricket Club (MCC) and the MCC Foundation. The visiting players will also attend the final of the ICC Women’s T20 World Cup 2026 at Lord’s, scheduled to be held on July 5.

The tour is significant because the visiting squad comprises former Afghanistan women cricketers who had to leave the country following the Taliban’s return to power in August 2021, after which women were effectively excluded from sport and public life. Many of the players eventually resettled in Australia, where they have continued to pursue cricket. An Afghanistan women’s team played against a ‘Cricket Without Borders XI’ at the Junction Oval in January 2025 ahead of the Women’s Ashes Test at the MCG, a game that was streamed by Cricket Australia.

The ECB said the tour aimed not only to provide competitive opportunities but also to reaffirm cricket’s commitment to inclusivity. “Since being displaced from Afghanistan in 2021, these players have shown extraordinary resilience in continuing their cricket journeys, in incredibly challenging circumstances,” Clare Connor, ECB Deputy CEO and Managing Director of England Women, said.

“We have worked with It’s Game On to build an itinerary and a set of experiences that we hope will be enjoyable and memorable. We are also delighted that the squad will attend the final of the ICC Women’s T20 World Cup 2026.

“Cricket has a responsibility to stand for inclusion and opportunity, and we are proud to be hosting this tour and supporting the players in deepening their connection to the game.”

The relocation and continued support of the players has been facilitated in part by It’s Game On, a global sports consultancy co-founded by former Australia cricketer Mel Jones and Emma Staples, along with Dr Catherine Orway. Jones, in particular, played a pivotal role in helping the players relocate to Australia. Her organisation has worked with international sporting bodies on initiatives centred around equity and opportunities for displaced female athletes.

“This tour is a major step forward, but also highlights how much work remains,” Jones said.

“These players have shown extraordinary courage and commitment to the game, despite everything that has been taken from them. They deserve more opportunities like this; they deserve to be recognised as part of the global cricket community. Moments like this matter, but we need to see plans for sustained and meaningful action beyond this year.”

[Cricbuzz]

Latest News

DR Congo cancels World Cup training camp over Ebola outbreak

Published

6 hours ago

2026/05/21

Priyan

DR Congo have qualified for the Fifa World Cup for the first time since 1974 (BBC)

The Democratic Republic of Congo has cancelled its pre-World Cup training camp in the capital, Kinshasa, because of an Ebola outbreak in the east of the country.

Preparations have been moved to Belgium amid the upsurge, which is thought to have killed more than 130 people.

The World Health Organization (WHO) has called the outbreak a “public health emergency of international concern”, but said it was not at pandemic level.

Jerry Kalemo, a spokesperson for the national football team, told international media that pre-tournament games in Europe would go ahead as planned, as the squad gears up for their first World Cup since 1974.

DR Congo are due to play friendly matches against Denmark, on 3 June in Belgium, and Chile, on 9 June in Spain, ahead of the World Cup finals.

A spokesperson for the DR Congo team told the Reuters news agency that the squad’s training camp had been cancelled due to travel restrictions imposed by the US, who are hosting the World Cup this summer, along with Mexico and Canada.

The US’ public health agency has banned entry from non-Americans who have been in the DR Congo, Uganda or South Sudan in the previous 21 days, in response to the Ebola outbreak

All DR Congo’s players, as well as the team’s French coach, Sébastien Desabre, are based outside the central African country and will therefore not be affected by the restrictions now the training camp has been cancelled.

The high-profile event in Kinshasa was supposed to have been attended by fans, along with DR Congo’s President Felix Tshisekedi, according to Reuters.

Kinshasa is roughly 1,800 km (1,120m) away from the eastern Ituri province, the epicentre of the Ebola outbreak. There have not yet been any reported cases in the city.

On Wednesday, the WHO said 139 people were thought to have died, out of 600 suspected cases. However, on the same day, Congolese health minister Samuel Roger Kamba told state broadcaster RTNC TV that authorities had registered 159 deaths.

(BBC Sports)