Sports
Susantha to be felicitated by former Walala athletes
by Reemus Fernando
Old Walala Athletes’ Association will felicitate their mentor and coach Susantha Fernando for his three decades of service to Ratnayake Central at a function on Saturday.
Fernando trained Ratnayake Central for three decades before giving up on the coaching assignment during the pandemic to concentrate on the athletes he has produced to senior level.
Ratnayake Central reached great heights during his long association with the school.
A little known school, when he first took up coaching, Ratnayake Central did not even have a proper 200 metres track. From a mere lowly placed school in the Central Province it climbed up ranks to be the athletics strong hold of the island, winning both the Girls’ and Boys’ overall titles simultaneously on an unprecedented 19 occasions.
The rising profile of the school was the reason for Central Province authorities to establish it as the Sports School of the Province in the mid 90s.
There has hardly been a national schools sports event where the name of Ratnayake Central was not associated with an overall title or a runner up title during the last two decades. As an official of the school recounts Ratnayake Central has won the championship or a runner up title at the John Tarbet Senior, All Island Schools Games Athletics Championship or the All Island Relay Championships on 72 occasions under Fernando’s stewardship. That is a feat that will be hard to match.
Ratnayake Central athletes trained by Fernando have gone on to win at Junior Asian Athletics Championship (seven medals), Asian Youth Games, Youth Olympic (1000m B grade 3rd), South Asian Junior Athletics Championships (7 medals at the last meet alone), Asian Athletics Championships, Asian Schools Games, South Asian Games (four golds at the last edition alone) and many regional international events apart from representing the country at many World Youth, World Junior, Asian Championship, World Championships, Commonwealth Games and Asian Games.
From Manoj Pushpakumara who won back to back Asian Junior Championship medals in the early 2000s and held the All Island Schools 800 metres record for nearly two decades to South Asian Games triple gold medalist Dilshi Kumarasinghe who is among the current crop of national athletes, Fernando has guided dozens of middle and long distance runners to achieve success. There are hundreds of other trainees who have become coaches and Physical Education Teachers. They are expected to attend the felicitation ceremony which will be held at the Araliya Hotel, Digana on Saturday.
Six-a-side school cricket is set to make a high-profile return to Moratuwa when the Old Boys’ Association of Prince of Wales’ College stages the Prince of Wales’ College 150th Anniversary Inter-School Sixes Cricket Tournament on August 29 and 30 at the De Soysa Stadium.
The two-day tournament is one of the major sporting attractions of the College’s historic 150th anniversary celebrations and
will bring together 16 leading school cricket teams for a knockout competition.
The tournament is aimed at reviving the excitement of six-a-side cricket, a format renowned for its fast pace and spectator-friendly nature, which has not featured regularly in major inter-school competitions in recent years.
The Old Boys’ Association believes the 150th anniversary provides the ideal opportunity to bring the format back to the forefront while celebrating Moratuwa’s deep-rooted passion for cricket.
Cricket has long held a special place in the hearts of Moratuwa’s residents, while Prince of Wales’ College boasts a proud cricketing tradition that has produced several outstanding players who have gone on to represent Sri Lanka at the highest level.
The organizers expect more than 5,000 cricket enthusiasts from Moratuwa and surrounding areas to witness the tournament over the two days, turning the event into a major festival of school cricket.
The opening ceremony on August 29 is scheduled to be attended by Kusal Mendis, one of the leading cricketers produced by Prince of Wales’ College and a member of the Sri Lankan national team.
The tournament will feature 16 schools, including Royal College Colombo, St. Joseph’s College Darley Road, Thurstan College Colombo, S. Thomas’ College Mount Lavinia, Dharmasoka College Ambalangoda, Prince of Wales’ College Moratuwa, Moratu Maha Vidyalaya, D.S. Senanayake College Colombo, Sri Sumangala College Panadura, Richmond College Galle, Mahanama College Colombo, St. Sebastian’s College Moratuwa, St. Peter’s College Bambalapitiya, Wesley College Colombo, Ananda College Colombo and Mahanama College Panadura.
With the competition being played on a knockout basis, the compact format is expected to produce plenty of attacking cricket and give emerging players an opportunity to showcase their skills in front of a large crowd.
Apart from the competitive aspect, the tournament is also intended to promote sportsmanship, friendship and fellowship among the participating schools.
The tournament will conclude on August 30 with a ceremonial awards presentation, with the participation of Eran Wickramaratne, distinguished invitees, representatives of participating schools, past pupils and members of the cricketing community.
The Old Boys’ Association has also expressed its appreciation to the corporate sector and event sponsors whose support has helped make the tournament possible.
Their contribution, according to the organizers, reflects the continuing partnership between Prince of Wales’ College, its alumni and the corporate community in supporting educational, sporting and development initiatives.
The six-a-side tournament is therefore expected to provide not only two days of entertaining school cricket, but also a fitting sporting celebration of 150 years of Prince of Wales’ College.
India 503/9 decl (Devdutt Padikkal 117, Dhruv Jurel 115; Asitha Fernando 4-106, Prabath Jayasuriya 2-132) drew with Sri Lanka 290 (Sonal Dinusha 103, Pasindu Sooriyabandara 80; Prasidh Krishna 3-52, Manav Suthar 3-85) and 429/9 f/o (Sonal Dinusha 133*, Pasindu Sooriyabandara 92; Ravindra Jadeja 3-94, Manav Suthar 3-121)
American golfer Matt Gogel has been suspended for six months for betting on golf tournaments, the PGA Tour has said.
The 55-year-old competes on the PGA Tour Champions circuit which is reserved for professional golfers aged 50 and older.
Gogel did not bet on events in which he was participating but admitted to unknowingly violating PGA Tour policy by placing “small recreational wagers” in 2024 and 2025.
“I would never knowingly violate the integrity of the game of golf,” Gogel said in a statement.
“I made an honest mistake and I look forward to playing in 2027 on the PGA Tour Champions.”
He had two top-10 finishes across 18 PGA Tour Champions events in 2026 and was most recently in action during the Rogers Charity Classic in Calgary, Alberta where he finished tied 30th last week.
Gogel, who has earned more than $760,000 (£559,000) in prize money from Champions events, won the Pebble Beach National Pro-Am in 2002 – his only victory in 179 starts on the PGA Tour.
His suspension came into effect on 23 August and lasts until 22 February.
[BBC Sports]
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