Sports
Tales of two future prospects

Uditha Chandrasena had the ability to clear hurdles with both legs, an advantage in 400 metres hurdles. Here he takes part in an athletics event at Diyagama. (Pic RF)
Waiting for the next Olympic hurdler – Part VI
by Reemus Fernando
When one young kid called Ushan Thivanka from a little known school made the winning jump in the Under-11 long jump at a local meet, the talent scouts of Maris Stella College, Negombo made a beeline to the budding talent. No sooner he was recruited by the then athletics stronghold, Maris Stella, he came under the supervision of veteran jumping coach Philip Ranjith. There was no such attention paid to Uditha Chandrasena from Sri Gnanawasa MMV, Divulapitiya, who was placed second in the same event. He went home like all others, not knowing what the future holds for him. Neither Thivanka nor Chandrasena knew that they would soon cross paths again. Today, Chandrasena, who went on to record many outstanding 400 metres hurdles performances at national school level, is an officer in the Sri Lanka Air Force, while Thivanka, the Sri Lankan national record holder in the men’s high jump is perusing his Olympic dream in the US. According to World Athletics statistics, Thivanka’s 2.30 metres performance recorded in May is the 15th best feat in the world this year.
Maris Stella College, Negombo has been in the possession of nearly 100 hurdles since 2010 after the school administration took a bold decision to invest in track and field sports. The three sports schools in the Western Province, namely Henegama Central, Rajasinghe Central and Taxila Central, combined have less than half that number. However, the presence of hurdles does not produce hurdlers. It was by chance that the best hurdler the school has produced to date came under the supervision of the likes of Susan Thamel, Lalith Silva and Tony Silva at Maris Stella around that time.
Studious youngster, Chandrasena passed the grade-five scholarship exam and his mother who had seen the ‘majesty of the College situated adjacent to the Negombo hospital’ during one of her visits, wanted to admit her child there. But her efforts were to no avail as the school was allocating only ten spots for the grade five scholarship students.
But a rare opportunity came his way when Maris Stella conducted a workshop for young athletes. Chandrasena’s father heard the news that reputed sprint coach and Olympian Sunil Gunawardena, his wife Badra and their famous charge Shehan Ambepitiya were coming to conduct the workshop. After his father obtained permission, Chandrasena could attend it and would not miss the coaching eye of Gunawardena who later inquired from the school authorities about the child. “It was the wise words of Gunawardena that made the school recruit me,” says Chandrasena, who later commenced training under Philip Ranjith and surpassed Thivanka to win medals at Junior National level in the long jump.
A couple of years later Ushan Thivanka set his eyes on the high jump as he came under the guidance of Suranji Fernando. Winning the long jump at the national level was not enough for Uditha he wanted to try his luck at a new event, the hurdles.
Maris Stella was famous for allowing young athletes to take up more than one discipline as the points earned by them would come in handy when the national schools championship titles were decided. However, there was no overloading as training was done only three days per week. Uditha however had to take an extra effort to convince ‘Silva Sir’ (Lalith Silva) to take up hurdling. He trained alone before performing a hurdle clearance to convince Silva. It did not take long for him to produce results. In his first year as a Senior John Tarbet Under-16 hurdler, he was only second to Youth Asian Games medallist Anuruddha Vidusanka.
Then on one fine Saturday, he saw pole vaulters undergoing training. Uditha was taken up by the event and immediately wanted to try it. The first thing he did after returning home was to prepare a makeshift pole vault area. After he got substantial training by himself he went to the pole vault coach and exhibited what he could do. In his first year as an Under-17 athlete, Uditha won podium places in all three events, the long jump, hurdles and pole vault at the junior national level.
Uditha Chandrasena making one of his last appearances for Maris Stella. (Pic Nishan S. Priyantha)
Uditha was just over five feet tall when he entered the Under-18 age category but compensated for the height disadvantage with his ability to clear hurdles with both legs. His outstanding performances found him a place in the team for the first-ever Asian Youth Athletics Championships in Doha where he almost won a medal. St. Sylvester’s hurdler Dharshana Rajapaksa compensated by winning the silver. Sri Lanka had two hurdlers featuring in that final.
Both Ushan and Uditha were fighters and had the natural ability to overcome barriers. Thivanka tall and lanky and Uditha short in stature but stoutly built were the shining stars of Maris Stella when they reached their final years. But now only Ushan is pursuing a career in athletics.
“By the time I entered the final year at school I started to realise that if I failed in studies I would be left with nothing. I had missed studies. The good performances at the junior national level were not going to help me. With just six months ahead of A/L, I decided to put all my efforts just to pass the exam. I passed the exam in the maths stream. I could have achieved better grades if I tried again but with my father having to take care of my mother who was ill with cancer I decided to apply to Air Force,” says Chandrasena.
Chandrasena was good in his studies. He had obtained seven ‘A’s and two ‘B’s for the GCE O/L. By the time he left school, he had many junior hurdles records against his name. Certainly, he had displayed the qualities of a future Olympian and could have reached the top at international level like his friend Thivanka, had he received support at the crucial juncture. The search for next Olympic hurdler continues.
Sports
Amin, bowlers leave West Indies Women’s World Cup hopes hanging by a thread

West Indies’ ODI World Cup hopes are hanging by a thread after they slumped to a second defeat in three matches in the qualifier in Lahore. They were beaten by 65 runs by hosts Pakistan, who have moved to the top of the points table, and are undefeated in the event so far as they remain on track for the Women’s World Cup.
Both teams, though, still have to play unbeaten Bangladesh and win-less Thailand. West Indies, meanwhile, have to win their remaining two matches, and hope other results go their way to help them get to the World Cup.
After bowling Pakistan out for 191, West Indies would have felt their bowlers had done most of the hard work against a line-up that continues to struggle to build partnerships and score quickly. Pakistan had no half-century stands – their highest was 47 runs for the second wicket between Muneeba Ali and Sidra Amin – and no one in their top five had a strike rate over 60. But a quality bowling attack and much improved fielding helped Pakistan defend what seemed a bowler-par total for the second time in the campaign.
Captain Fatima Sana led from the front, and after holding herself back until the 24th over against Scotland, took the new ball under lights in this game. Her first delivery was full and straight, and clipped the top of Hayley Matthews’ back pad. As a result, Sana had her opposite number out for a first-ball duck. Matthews looked disappointed with the decision, but with no reviews at the qualifier, she could only trudge off.
The experienced Shemaine Campbelle was sent out ahead of Zaida James at No. 3 but was run-out for the second time in the tournament. Campbelle tucked a delivery from Sadia Iqbal on the leg side, and set off for a single, but didn’t account for Sidra Nawaz’s speed. Keeping wicket in place of Muneeba, who has been left to focus on her batting, Nawaz charged off to field the ball, and her direct hit caught Campbelle out of her ground.
Three overs later, West Indies had another mishap. Diana Baig appealed for an lbw against Jannillea Glasgow as the ball bobbled to slip. Glasgow and James took the opportunity to steal a run, but Nawaz was quick to see them hesitate and called for the ball while the umpire was still deciding on the appeal. Nawaz ran James out to leave West Indies at 29 for 3, but with Stafanie Taylor still in the hut. Taylor had taken ill in the field, and could not come out to bat until an hour and a quarter into the innings, or until West Indies were five down, whichever came first.
That is why Chinelle Henry walked out to bat at No. 5, and joined Glasgow. Henry slapped the first ball she faced for four, and hit two more boundaries in her first seven balls.
Left-arm spinner Nashra Sandhu was brought on in the 12th over, and dismised Glasgow and Henry in the space of three balls to all but end West Indies’ hopes. They were 54 for 5 when Taylor walked in, before she shared a 34-run sixth wicket stand with Shabika Gajnabi. Taylor started to look threatening when she hit Rameen Shamim back over her head for six but was caught by Muneeba at short fine leg, and West Indies had no senior batters left.
Sana came back to take two late wickets, and finished with figures of 3 for 16. She is now joint-second on the tournament’s wicket-takers’ list, and just behind Matthews, who has ten wickets. That will be scant consolation to Matthews, who had Gull Feroza out early and took 2 for 30 in ten overs in this match, given the state West Indies find themselves in.
Though their bowling was tight, and only Karishma Ramharack conceded above five runs an over, their batting has let them down. After finishing World Cup 2022 as semi-finalists, they could miss out on the 2025 edition altogether after losses to Scotland and Pakistan.
West Indies have two days off before their next match against Bangladesh, and will want to use that time to address their batting concerns, including whether to bring Qiana Joseph back into the XI. Pakistan, too, will have some worries about their batting. Muneeba laboured to 33 off 60 balls, and Amin took 86 balls to get to fifty, but they anchored the innings.
No other batter scored more than Sidra Nawaz’s 23, and the middle order’s inconsistency is something they will want to address in coming games. Pakistan play Thailand on Thursday, and then play Bangladesh in their final game on Saturday.
Should Pakistan qualify for the World Cup, their matches will take place outside of India, in accordance with the hybrid model agreed on by the BCCI and PCB earlier this year.
Brief scores:
Pakistan Women 191 in 49.5 overs (Muneeba Ali 33, Sidra Amin 54, Aliya Riyaz 20, Sidra Nawaz 23; Hayley Matthews 2-30, Afy Fletcher 2-39, Karishma Ramharak 2-55) beat West Indies Women 126 in 39.2 overs (Aaliya Alleyne 22, Shabika Gajnabi 21; Fatima Sana 3-16, Rameen Shamim 2-26, Nashra Sandhu 2-31) by 65 runs
[Cricinfo]
Latest News
IPL 2025: Dhoni, Jadeja snap Chennai Super King’s losing streak

Chennai Super Kings (CSK) were staring at the prospect of losing a sixth game in a row when MS Dhoni joined Shivam Dube with five overs left in the chase. But Dhoni won the battle against the Lucknow Super Giants (LSG) seamers with an 11-ball 26 while Dube made 43 to give them their second win in seven outings.
LSG captain Rishabh Pant felt right after the game that LSG were “10-15 runs short” in their first-innings effort. Despite Pant’s own 49-ball 63, his first half-century in LSG colours, they scored only 166 for 7 in 20 overs, their lowest total of the season. They were pegged back by Ravindra Jadeja’s two wickets and kept in check by Noor Ahmed’s miserly four overs that went for only 13 runs.
After CSK’s opening partnership put them on course early, LSG dragged the game back with their spinners. Digvesh Rathi, Ravi Bishnoi and part-time offspinner Aiden Markram produced combined figures of 11-0-80-4, but a 19-run over from Shardul Thakur in the penultimate over ended LSG’s hopes.
When Dhoni walked in at the 15th over, Dube had made only 17 in his first 20 balls. Dube had failed to boss the spinners like his usual self and the dismissals of Vijay Shankar and Jadeja had only added to the pressure.
But Dhoni enjoys pace, coming into the game with a strike-rate of 222 against seamers since IPL 2024, and LSG supplied him with just that. Despite one over of Bishnoi left, LSG went for Avesh Khan and Shardul Thakur, and their wide yorker plan to both batters ended up being predictable.
Dhoni edged a couple of fours down to deep third but showed his power by punching a boundary through the covers, flicking a full toss over midwicket and dragging a one-handed six over deep square leg.
He also ran his ones and twos, sometimes gingerly, with Dube and took the pressure off him. When Shardul bowled two full tosses at the start of the 19th over, Dube smacked him for four and a no-ball six.
Dhoni picked up his first IPL player-of-the-match award since 2019 while Dube, soon after hitting the winning runs, said he was proud of taking the game deep. Their partnership of 57 came in only 28 balls.
Shaik Rasheed’s skills were never in doubt. He is a former Under-19 World Cup-winning vice-captain, has a Syed Mushtaq Ali century and a double ton in first-class cricket. It’s for those reasons CSK have kept a close eye on him since IPL 2023.
With Devon Conway not among the runs, CSK gave Rasheed an IPL debut and he took strike to start the chase. By the second over, he had pumped three fours off Akash Deep, with one flick over midwicket described on the broadcast as “Virat Kohli-like.”
His 19-ball 27 with six fours helped CSK reach fifty in only 4.2 overs, and alongside Rachin Ravindra’s 22-ball 37, gave them a rare successful opening stand. Those runs proved crucial as a collapse against spin soon followed.
With a strike-rate of 80 and a high score of 21 this season, Pant needed to get going. He walked-in in the fourth over with Markram and Nicholas Pooran out to Khaleel Ahmed and Anshul Kamboj cheaply.
He started on a positive note, improvising a reverse lap over third man early for six along with a handful of contorted pulls and cuts. But his strike-rate of 165 plummeted to 103 when CSK’s spinners applied the squeeze. Pant saw wickets fall from the other end, and ended up playing ten dots in 15 balls against Noor, scoring only six runs. His strike rate of 40 against the purple-cap holder ended up being the second worst for any batter against a bowler in IPL (minimum15 balls).
However, from 40 in 39 balls, Pant found his touch against the pace-on options of Matheesha Pathirana and Khaleel to turn his innings around. He couldn’t stay till the end, though, and the CSK spinners’ effort ensured LSG could make only 166 on a day where their second-highest individual score was Mitchell Marsh’s 30.
Brief scores:
Chennai Super Kings 168 for 5 in 19.3 overs (Shaik Rasheed 27, Rachin Ravindra 37, Shivam Dube 43*, Mahendra Singh Dhoni 26*; Digvesh Rathi 1-23, Avesh Khan 1-32, Ravi Bishnoi 2-18, Aiden Markram 1-25) beat Lucknow Super Giants 166 for 7 in 20 overs (Mitchell Marsh 30, Rishabh Pant 63, Ayush Badoni 22, Abdul Samad 20; Khaleel Ahmed 1-38, Anshul Kamboj 1-20, Ravindra Jadeja 2-24, Matheesha Pathirana 2-45) by five wickets
[Cricinfo]
Sports
Therapuththa National School Amabalanthota reach finals of Under 19 division III Tier B limited over cricket tournament

Therapuththa National School Ambalanthota reached the final of the Under 19 division III Tier B limited over cricket tournament conducted by the Sri Lanka Schools Cricket Association
The Therapuththa team captained by N M Senura Daksitha was selected from P A Imanga Rashmika, M P Akash Udayanga, M B Senuth Daritha, J G Pramith Hasintha, A J A Senuth Kithmina, K G Pathum Dilshan, Jayasinghe Sathira, H W Ashan Chamika, U M Senuka Dineth Ransara, B G Didun Nethsara, J H Yasith Pinsara, A Y Rahal Lakkitha, U H Yashmin Ashinsana Kulathilaka, T H Malindu Prabashwara, O P Samudya Charunya, Nethindu Thamudina, P P G Sadeep Lakshan, and A L G Sanuth Sandera.
The team was coached by P A Leelananda Kumarasiri together with J M Kokum Induma and T G Kavindu Keshika.
As the Under 19 division III Tier B final between Therapuththta National School Ambalanthota and Nenamal Royal International School Kelaniya, which was to be played at the Army ground Diyagama on 10th April was abandoned without a toss due to rain, both teams were named joint champions. A total of 282 teams participated in this years Under 19 division III tournament
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