Sports
Sri Lanka Under 19s looking to keep unbeaten status intact against hosts
by Reemus Fernando
Sri Lanka Under 19s will enter today’s final group ‘D’ encounter almost assured of their quarter-final place and fates of Australia and hosts West Indies in the ICC Under 19 World Cup in their hands. Despite leading the points table in their group the team will look forward to registering a win against the hosts.
“The team will try to enter the quarter-finals unbeaten and will field a team that can counter West Indies’ strengths,” a team official told The Island from St. Kitts yesterday.
Mahinda Halangoda, the manager of Sri Lanka Under 19 team was speaking to The Island after fellow Group ‘D’ team, Australia beat Scotland to remain in contention for a place in the quarter-finals.
“You need to win to avoid looking at net run rates to earn your quarter-final place. The team will not take chances,” Halangoda said.
Sri Lanka will meet hosts as the only unbeaten team in Group ‘D’. While Scotland are out of contention, West Indies will be looking to register a victory to secure a place in the quarter-final in the tournament proper.
Despite Australia’s big win against Scotland on Wednesday giving them a net run-rate boost, they are not assured of qualification. If West Indies beat Sri Lanka in a very close finish, then Australia could be eliminated to the Plate round. If Sri Lanka beat West Indies, Australia will qualify.
Sri Lanka registered a four-wicket win against Australia in their second tournament match on Monday to lead the points table. “No one expected us to beat Australia as they were a strong team, one of the favourites. Dunith Wellalage did really well to guide the team. A victory on Friday will be the ideal way to conclude the group stage,” said Halangoda.
Wellalage picked up his second five-wicket haul of the tournament on Monday before scoring a crucial half-century to lead the side to victory.
The tournament’s decisive phase has seen one of the team’s leading batsmen failing to deliver while a batsman replaced him producing results. Pawan Pathiraja who was the team’s most consistent batsman until the team reached West Indies was dropped after he failed to impress. It would be interesting to see if the team would recall him for the final group match.
Sakuna Liyanage who replaced wicketkeeper-batsman Anjala Bandara did a rescue job in the first match he played scoring a match-defining half-century. Liyanage also kept wickets for Sri Lanka as both wicketkeepers were not fit to play during the initial stages. Liyanage’s form has seen him retain his place despite Bandara returning to the match against Australia.
Sri Lanka banked on spinners to earn results in this World Cup and it would be interesting to note how the team from the land of legendary fast bowlers would take the final group encounter.
Sri Lanka Athletics has invited India, the Philippines and the Maldives for next month’s Relay Championships conducted by Sri Lanka Schools Athletics Association in a bid to provide the men’s 4×400 metres relay quartet with a chance to reach qualifying standards for the World Relays.
Currently Sri Lanka men’s 4×400 metres relay team is within the required ranking position to compete at the prestigious World Relays taking place in Guangzhou, China. The 3:04.48 seconds finish to win the gold medal of the men’s 4×400 metres at the Asian Relays in May last year has placed Sri Lanka in the 31st position in the ‘Road to Guangzhou’ rankings.
But with many competitions coming up within the next couple of months Sri Lanka Athletics wants to leave no stone unturned in their quest to keep the ranking position within the qualifying range.
The teams in the first 32 positions according to the times produced within the qualifying period (January 1, 2024 to April 13, 2025) become eligible for the World Relays taking place on May 10 and 11 in Guangzhou.
Sri Lanka’s chances of improving the current standings (31st) at this week’s World Indoor Championship in China are minimal as Olympian Aruna Dharshana, who is the fastest of the current crop of athletes will not be available for the event.
Dharshana is currently training and competing in Australia. He is looking forward to reach qualifying standards or reach the required ranking position for World Championships in the 400 metres.
The World Athletics has set a tough standard of 44.85 seconds for the men’s 400 metres. While only 17 are selected through direct qualifying standards, 31 athletes are selected through rankings for the 400 metres. Dharshana is yet yo enter rankings to be eligible for the World Championships.
Sri Lanka Athletics will field Dharshana, Kalinga Kumarage, S.B.R. Madushan and Sadew Rajakaruna for the relay event in April.
by Reemus Fernando
Defence Services Beach Volleyball Championship 2025 was held from March 12 to 14 at the SLAF beach volleyball courts, Katunayake. During the finals SLAF Men’s team defeated SL Army (2-0) while the SL Navy Women’s team defeated SLAF Women’s team (2-0). Incidentally is the seventh Defence Services Beach Volleyball title won by the SLAF Men’s Team.
Base Commander SLAF Base Katunayake AVM Dhammika Dias graced the occasion as the Chief Guest. Chairman of SLAF Volleyball, Group Captain Milinda Mendis, Senior Officers from SL Army and Navy were also present for the finals.
The Central Province Badminton Association (CPBA) is now accepting entries for one of Sri Lanka’s most anticipated badminton competitions, the Summer Season All-Island Open Championships 2025, which will be staged at the Municipal Council Indoor Stadium in Nuwara Eliya from April 21 to 27.
The highly followed seven-day annual badminton tournament, held during the Nuwara Eliya April Holiday Season, is known to attract Sri Lanka’s top ranked shuttlers. The National Ranking Level 1 competition, sanctioned by Sri Lanka Badminton (SLB), is one of the key sporting attractions of Nuwara Eliya during April every year, known to generate increasing public interest.
The championship will feature a wide range of events from Under-11 to Under-19 in the Junior category and Over-30 to Over-70 in the Senior category, with an addition of three Combined Age segment of 100+. The main attraction of the competition will be the Open events comprising Men’s and Women’s Singles, Doubles and Mixed Doubles, with an addition of a Plate Championship for the losers in Men’s and Women’s Singles.
The opening ceremony will take place on April 21st at 9:00am, followed by the preliminary rounds, leading up to the climax on April 26 with the quarter-finals and semi-finals. The excitement will continue on April 27 with the highly anticipated semi-finals and final matches, followed by the Closing Ceremony to mark the culmination of this championship.
The main draw seeding will be determined based on SLB Ranking as of April 13, followed by the draw on April 16 at 11:00am at No.2, Cambridge Terrace, Colombo 7. Entries will close on April 10 at noon. Entries can be submitted online or by contacting Sadeesha Adithya on 0761759017 and further details of the tournament are available in the prospectus published in the SLB website.
A total prize money of Rs.750,000 for all events based on the number of entries will be on offer, in addition to trophies, medals and certificates guaranteed for winners, runners-up and semi-finalists of each event of the tournament. Junior winners will receive appropriate gifts instead of prize money, according to a decision taken by the tournament organisers. The tournament is sponsored by Mobil, Li Ning, McFoil, 3M and GAC.
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