Sports
Sprinting with giants yet feeling dwarfish
For two years Ambepitiya had the rare privilege of having sprint king Usain Bolt and his closest contender to world titles Yohan Blake as his training partners but what became of his long cherished ambitions after heavy loads of training in Jamaica is something that should be seriously studied by those who propose foreign training for Sri Lankan athletes. Shehan Ambepitiya flanked by Usain Bolt and Glean Mills.
Foreign training for local athletes
Story of a Lankan youth who trained alongside Bolt
by Reemus Fernando
Sprinter Shehan Ambepitiya had the privilege of being trained by probably the best sprint coach in Sri Lanka. He had bagged several coveted international medals by the time he turned 20. By 2010 he was just three milliseconds behind the Olympic qualifying mark for 100 metres (judging by the 2008 qualifying standards) when the highly excited National Olympic Committee provided him with an IOC scholarship to be trained by Glean Mills alongside world record holder Usain Bolt. For two years Ambepitiya had the rare privilege of having sprint king Usain Bolt and his closest contender to world titles Yohan Blake as his training partners but what became of his long cherished ambitions after heavy loads of training in Jamaica is something that should be seriously studied by those who fancy foreign training for Sri Lankan athletes.
There are many Sri Lankan track and field athletes who benefitted from foreign training and reached Olympic qualifying standards and international medal winning standards. Olympians from S. L. B. Rosa and Nagalingam Ethirveerasingam to Manjula Kumara, who had US University scholarships and from Olympic medalist Susanthika Jayasinghe to Asian Championship medalist Sachith Maduranga, high performance training overseas had a huge positive impact on their sporting careers.
But from sprinters Ambepitiya to Chandrika Subashini to long jumper Sampath Dissanayake it was a different story as they struggled to reach their personal best after undergoing training meant for track and field’s super stars. Current sprinter Himasha Eshan, who also had a training stint in Jamaica also had to face a similar predicament and remodel his training plans after returning from Jamaica.
“It was a good experience to train alongside the likes of Bolt and Blake but I never ran closer to my personal best after training in Jamaica,” said Shehan Ambepitiya in an interview with The Island on Monday.
“I was following the same training schedule Bolt and Blake was following. It was not an individualised training plan. Obviously, the focus during training was on Bolt.”
By 2008, Ambepitiya had burst like a rocket into international scene under Sunil Gunawardena’s guidance. He had shown lot of promise at a very young age that he was looked up to as a future medal prospect at senior World level. That year he became the first Sri Lankan male athlete to feature in a final of a World Athletics event when he finished seventh in the 100 metres final at the U20 World Championships. The same year, the former Gateway College and President’s College, Rajagiriya, athlete won three gold medals at the Commonwealth Youth Games in India.
In 2010, Ambepitiya clocked his personal best of 10.31 seconds as he won gold to become South Asia’s fastest man. Athletics had unearthed a wonderful talent. Something had to be done.
Neither the NOC nor the authorities who influenced him to take up the IOC scholarship to be trained in Jamaica meant bad for Ambepitiya. But Sunil Gunawardena, the person who had the knowledge of the athlete was not consulted. Would it have made a difference if had they consulted Gunawardena?
Ambepitiya said: “Sir [Sunil} did not give his consent. At that time I also did not understand why he was not willing to send me for training in Jamaica.”
When he returned from Jamaica, Ambepitiya had a nagging hamstring injury to cope up with and those who were expecting miracles to happen wondered why he had not qualified for the 2012 London Olympics.
“Everything was different in Jamaica from food to training. Sunil Sir was yet to introduce me to lift heavy weights in training here. In Jamaica, I was introduced to them without any evaluation.
But when I returned I was far behind my personal best. It took years before I could run below 10.50 seconds again.”
Despite failing to improve his personal best, Ambepitiya continued training under Gunawardena with a lot of commitment for years and was a part of the team that established the current national record in the men’s 4×100 metres at the Commonwealth Games in 2018.
Asked for his views on foreign training for local athletes, Ambepitiya opined that he would not recommend it for track and field athletes.
Sports Minister Namal Rajapaksa has highlighted the need to provide foreign training for country’s best athletes. It has been reported that the best athletes selected from this year’s competitions would be sent abroad for training. It is doubtful whether there would be competitions this year due to the COVID-19 pandemic. But when the competitions are held and future prospects emerge it would be advisable to weigh the pros and cons of overseas training carefully. Foreign training which is perfect for one may not be so for another as in the case of Ambepitiya.
India vs Sri Lanka
Dubai, 6pm local time
India received good news on the fitness of captain Harmanpreet Kaur, who is available to play today’s game after spraining her neck and retiring hurt in the last over of India’s chase against Pakistan. Pooja Vastrakar though, is unlikely to take part having missed Sunday’s match due to a niggle, with S Sajana replacing her.
India hold the advantage by a 19-5 margin in T20Is against Sri Lanka. But one of those five defeats was as recent as this July at the Asia Cup final. India will be keen on exacting revenge. They need a big win to bolster their NRR, something that they did not manage in their victory against Pakistan despite restricting them to 105. A defeat for Sri Lanka, meanwhile, will make their chances of moving to the next round almost nil. Dew has not had much of an effect in the games in Dubai so far, with the sticky nature of the surface and long boundaries also not making run-scoring easy.
India squad:
Harmanpreet Kaur (capt), Smriti Mandhana (vice-capt), Yastika Bhatia (wk), Shafali Verma, Deepti Sharma, Jemimah Rodrigues, Richa Ghosh (wk), Pooja Vastrakar, Arundhati Reddy, Renuka Singh, D Hemalatha, Asha Sobhana, Radha Yadav, Shreyanka Patil, S Sajana
Sri Lanka squad:
Chamari Athapaththu (capt), Harshitha Samarawickrama, Vishmi Gunaratne, Kavisha Dilshari, Nilakshika Silva, Hasini Perera, Anushka Sanjeewani (wk), Sachini Nisansala, Udeshika Prabodhani, Inoshi Priyadharshani, Achini Kulasuriya, Inoka Ranaweera, Shashini Gimhani, Ama Kanchana, Sugandika Kumari
Tournament form guide:
India suffered a big 58-run loss against New Zealand in their opening game, but managed to get past Pakistan in Dubai by six wickets on Sunday. Sri Lanka, on the other hand, are currently bottom of the group A points table, and are yet to win a game. They lost their opening match against lower ranked Pakistan by 31 runs, and then went down to Australia by six wickets on Saturday.
Player to watch:
Smriti Mandhana does not have the greatest of records in T20Is against Sri Lanka: 379 runs in 19 innings at 22.29 with two fifties. But in a crunch game, India will bank on their experienced batter to give them a grand start, something that has not happened so far in the tournament.
[Cricinfo]
Scotland vs South Africa
Dubai, 2pm local time
There are no major injury concerns in either camp, though it remains to be seen how South Africa manage the players’ workload considering a less-than-48 hours turnaround time after their game against England was a day-night affair in Sharjah on Monday. Scotland are bottom placed on the group B points table, and with an NRR of -1.897, a loss against South Africa will most certainly end their hopes of qualifying for the semi-finals. South Africa, on the other hand, can leapfrog England and secure top spot with a big win in Dubai. This is the first time South Africa and Scotland will face-off in any format in women’s cricket. Heat is once again going to be a factor in the day game in Dubai, with temperatures likely to touch 38 degrees Celsius.
Scotland squad:
Kathryn Bryce (capt), Chloe Abel, Abbi Aitken-Drummond, Olivia Bell, Sarah Bryce (wk), Darcey Carter, Priyanaz Chatterji, Katherine Fraser, Saskia Horley, Lorna Jack, Ailsa Lister, Abtaha Maqsood, Megan McColl, Hannah Rainey, Rachel Slater
South Africa squad:
Laura Wolvaardt (capt), Anneke Bosch, Tazmin Brits, Nadine de Klerk, Annerie Dercksen, Mieke de Ridder, Ayanda Hlubi, Sinalo Jafta (wk), Marizanne Kapp, Ayabonga Khaka, Sune Luus, Nonkululeko Mlaba, Seshnie Naidu, Tumi Sekhukhune, Chloe Tryon
Tournament form guide:
Scotland’s maiden T20 World Cup appearance hasn’t gone to plan so far with two back-to-back losses. They started their tournament with a 16-run defeat gainst Bangladesh, before going down heavily to West Indies by six wickets and 50 balls to spare. South Africa are also coming into this game on the back of a seven wicket loss against England which saw them slip to third on the points table. Their ten wicket win against West Indies, though, has kept their net run rate (NRR) relatively healthy.
Player to watch:
Nonkululeko Mlaba is currently the leading wicket-taker in the tournament with five wickets and could once again be South Africa’s trump card, especially in the day game where the ball is expected to turn more. Mlaba picked a four-wicket haul the last time she played in Dubai – against West Indies, earlier in this World Cup – and will want a repeat of that performance.
[Cricinfo]
by Reemus Fernando
The men’s and women’s 400 metres have been Sri Lanka’s most productive medal winning discipline at regional track and field championships during the last few decades. Sri Lanka’s schools structure has been providing a steady supply of talented sprinters to national level to improve the profile of this discipline. This year, sprinters Shashintha Silva and Jithma Wijetunga have been the fastest in the junior boys’ and girls’ categories respectively and are showing great promise.
The St. Sebastian’s College, Kandana sprinter Shashintha produced a remarkable feat at the Sir John Tarbat Senior Athletics Championship at the Sugathadasa Stadium last week. Shashintha, who also won the silver medal at the South Asian Junior Athletics Championship in September clocked a stunning 47.10 seconds feat to win the Under 18 boys’ 400 metres at the Sir John Tarbat Senior Athletics Championship. It is a new National Youth record as he produced his personal best. His feat is faster than those competing in the Under 20 age category this year.
In the girls’ category, Wijetunga clocked 54.94 seconds to win the Under 20 400 metres. Incidentally, she was faster at the Sugathadasa Stadium than at the South Asian Junior Championships in India last month where she finished outside the podium. She turned tables on SAJAC bronze medallist Takshima Nuhasna to win here.
Such performances are crucial for Sri Lanka if it is to continue the medal winning form at Asian circuit.
However many promising sprinters have gone out of the radar after performing exceptionally well at junior level. It is incumbent upon authorities to keep these athletes interested in track and field events after leaving school if the country is to win medals at international level.
Sri Lanka Army pays tribute to fallen War Heroes
October 9 at the Women’s T20 World Cup: Harmanpreet fit to play for India vs Sri Lanka
October 9 at the Women’s T20 World Cup: SA look to get back to winning ways
-
News4 days agoSajith top presidential election spender
-
Editorial7 days agoEaster Sunday carnage mastermind traced?
-
Latest News6 days ago“Ensure the continuity of the public service without disruption” – President
-
Business5 days agoSri Lanka Tourism surpasses 2023 tourist arrivals
-
Features7 days agoAKD pledges to clean the stables
-
News6 days agoSJB-UNP alliance talks break down due to senior UNPer’s intervention – SJB Chairman
-
Features4 days agoThe Economy, Executive Presidency, and the Parliamentary Election
-
Sports5 days agoAbheeth takes five but St. Anthony’s ahead