Sports

University sports continue virtually with Gamer.LK’s Inter-University Championship

Published

5 years ago

2021/06/27

With traditional sports coming to a standstill in the pandemic-stricken “new normal” – Esports take the limelight as university students go head-to-head virtually in their favorite video games. Organised annually by Sri Lanka’s premier Esports tournament organiser Gamer.LK, the Inter-University Esports Championship powered by Softlogic and Dell this year will attract participation surpassing those of its traditional sports counterparts. Samsung Sri Lanka joins as Smartphone partner and the event is energized by Red Bull.

Held for the sixth consecutive year, the event features 16 of Sri Lanka’s favorite video game titles spanning mobile, PC and console. University students from across the country are able to participate remotely from the safety of their own homes, coming together in a virtual arena connected via the internet. The featured titles are Call of Duty 4 – 5v5, Call of Duty Mobile – Solo, Clash Royale – 1v1, DOTA 2 – 5v5, FIFA 21 – 1v1, Assetto Corsa – Race, Free Fire – Solo, League of Legends – 5v5, Mario Kart Tour – 1v1, Mobile Legends – 5v5, Rainbow Six Siege – 5v5, Real Cricket – 1v1, Rocket League – 1v1, PUBG Mobile – Solo, Valorant – 5v5, Call of Duty: Warzone (exhibition) – Solo.

Last year’s championship was the first time the event was taken online fully, and still saw no shortage of players. There were over 630 registered players across 57 universities and higher education institutions from all over Sri Lanka. The competition between the universities has also never been more fierce, with each year a different university stepping up to take the title of champion from former victors.

Previous winners of the Inter-University Esports Championship:

● 2020 – National School of Business Management (NSBM)

● 2019 – Informatics Institute of Technology (IIT)

● 2018 – Sri Lanka Institute of Information Technology (SLIIT)

● 2017 – International College of Business & Technology (ICBT)

● 2016 – Asia Pacific Institute of Information Technology (APIIT)

This year’s Inter-University Esports Championship is powered by Softlogic and Dell. Softlogic Holdings PLC is a diversified conglomerate in Sri Lanka, and is known to be one of Sri Lanka’s most dynamic and progressive conglomerates, with industry leadership in six business verticals — ICT, Healthcare, Retail, Financial Services, Automobiles and Leisure.

Softlogic has always been in the forefront of introducing the best technologies the world has to offer to the Sri Lankan consumer. Softlogic has contributed to the development of the Sri Lankan IT infrastructure immensely over the years through decades of dedicated service as a retailer of high quality consumer electronics.

It is this same ambition that drove Softlogic to officially become an authorized distributor of Dell laptops and computers in Sri Lanka in early 1990s. Since then, Softlogic has been offering a wide range of computers and laptops suitable to be used at home, work, to study, gaming or simply for entertainment.

With the global demand for e-sports on the rise, Softlogic has been an avid supporter of the growing gaming community in Sri Lanka. To extend this support to the gaming communities, Softlogic will offer some of the world’s best Gaming Dell laptops and computers at unbeatable prices, exclusive discounts plus interest free easy payment schemes via all Softlogic and Softlogic MAX outlets island-wide, as well as on www.mysoftlogic.lk.

Samsung Sri Lanka comes onboard as the official Smartphone Partner. Samsung has been at the forefront of developing products and services for gamers and promoting E-sports in Sri Lanka over the years, as it was identified that the youth are very passionate about it. As a result, Samsung has successfully initiated and completed three large scale gaming competitions in 2020 alone with over 1000 participants from all around Sri Lanka and a staggering 175,000 people streaming the tournaments each time. Samsung continues to amplify E-Sports in Sri Lanka not only with such events but with their products as well. Samsung’s recent introduction of Galaxy S21 series has features such as Game booster technology, display with 120Hz refresh rate, gaming processors and much more on offer. Samsung has revitalised their technology to be more focused on proving the ultimate gaming experience to its users.

Red Bull steps up to Energize the championship with their signature brand of flair and energy. Giving wings to Sri Lankan gamers by partnering with and conducting unique Esports events, Red Bull has been a significant part of Sri Lanka’s Esports growth over the years. Red Bull Campus Cricket was replicated on the virtual battlefield with Red Bull Campus Clutch earlier this year, where Sri Lanka’s top campus Valorant team was given the opportunity to represent the country on a global stage. Red Bull MEO was conducted in 2020 giving Sri Lankan PUBG Mobile athletes the opportunity to showcase their skills amongst the world’s best. One of Sri Lanka’s largest PUBG Mobile events in 2021, Red Bull Fight or Flight, had over 400 squads competing for glory.

Registrations for the Inter-University Esports Championship will conclude on the 29th of June.

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Latest News

Rain ends Ireland and Australia’s T20 World Cup hopes

Published

9 hours ago

2026/02/17

Priyan

Constant rain meant play was not possible between Ireland and Zimbabwe on Tuesday [BBC]

Ireland and Australia have both been eliminated from the T20 World Cup as rain prevented play in the Group B game between the Irish and Zimbabwe at Pallekele Cricket Stadium in Kandy.

Zimbabwe’s shock victory over Australia left them needing just a point on Tuesday to advance to the Super 8s with the match being a must-win for Ireland to retain any hope of advancing.

Australia, who suffered an eight wicket defeat to Sri Lanka on Monday, were also banking on a win for Ireland to remain in the hunt for the next phase.

But with the rain unrelenting in Kandy the match was ultimately abandoned with both Ireland and Zimbabwe taking a point apiece.

That left Zimbabwe on five points and Ireland – whose four-game campaign is complete – on three, with Australia sitting on two and just one game remaining against Oman on Friday (13:30 GMT) which is now a dead rubber.

Zimbabwe will take on Sri Lanka in Colombo on Thursday (09:30 GMT) with the winner topping Group B, but they are both guaranteed a place in the next phase of the tournament.

[BBC Sports]

Latest News

Samra’s record 110 in vain as Phillips and Ravindra put New Zealand in Super Eights

Published

12 hours ago

2026/02/17

Priyan

Yuvraj Samra broke many records on his way to 110 off 65 balls [Cricinfo]

Yuraj Samra’s record-breaking hundred went in vain as New Zealand beat Canada by eight wickets in Chennai to qualify for the Super Eight stage of the 2026 T20 World Cup.

Batting first, Canada posted a competitive 173 for 4, thanks to Samra’s 110 off 65 balls, the highest score by an Associate batter against a Full Member in the tournament’s history. At 19 years and 141 days, the left-hand opener also became the youngest to cross 50 in a men’s T20 World Cup match.

Canada’s bowlers and fielders, though, let them down. They did send back Tim Seifert and Finn Allen inside the first four overs, but Glenn Phillips and Rachin Ravindra snatched the game away from them and ran away with it.

Phillips smashed 76 not out off 36 balls and Ravindra 59 not out off 39. The two added 146 off just 73 balls for the third wicket and took New Zealand home with 4.5 overs to spare.

Matt Henry started the proceedings with four dots to Samra but the opener got going with back-to-back fours off the last two deliveries. Samra faced only five balls in the next four overs but took James Neesham down in the final over of the powerplay. With Neesham operating from around the wicket, he pulled to fine leg, muscled over midwicket, drilled down the ground, and slashed over the covers after coming down the ground. The first three went for fours, the last carried all the way.

Samra kept the scoreboard ticking even after the powerplay. He smashed Kyle Jamieson’s slower ball through extra cover before pulling Cole McConchie for a flat six. Soon, he reached his fifty, off 36 balls.

New Zealand were without Lockie Ferguson and Mitchell Santner. Ferguson has returned home for the birth of his first child and Santner was ruled out because of a “dodgy burger”. In their absence, New Zealand’s bowling attack looked toothless, and Samra took full advantage of it. He started the 13th over by smashing McConchie for 6, 6, 4. Dilpreet Bajwa and he added 116 in 14 overs for the first wicket; Bajwa’s contribution was only 36 off 39 balls.

Samra brought up his hundred off 58 balls, getting there with a toe-ended four past short third. He had a reprieve on 103 when Neesham dropped him at long-on off Henry. The ball burst through Neesham’s hands and went for four. Samra was eventually dismissed in the final over, caught at deep-backward square-leg by Phillips on the second attempt.

Canada’s indiscipline with the ball was evident from the very first over. Jaskaran Singh’s second delivery was down the leg side, which Allen helped to the fine-leg boundary. It was followed by an off-side wide and a front-foot no-ball. Allen attempted a quick single off the latter. The short midwicket fielder missed with the throw at the bowler’s end, and a sloppy effort from the fielder backing up resulted in four overthrows.

Allen then took apart Dilon Heyliger, hitting his first two balls for a four and a six. Seifert also threw his bat around and got one over the covers. Shivam Sharma, the chasing fielder, was casual in his effort near the boundary line and failed to flick the ball back.

Saad Bin Zafar provided temporary relief by having Seifert caught at mid-off. When Allen was caught in the covers off a Heyliger delivery that stuck in the pitch, New Zealand were 30 for 2 in 3.1 overs. But Canada continued to be profligate in the field. Bajwa started the fifth over with a no-ball, and also bowled a wide before Ravindra hit him for two fours in three balls. That allowed New Zealand to finish the powerplay on 60 for 2.

Phillips took the lead after the powerplay. He hit Saad for back-to-back fours before launching Bajwa for a straight six. When Ansh Patel came on to bowl, Phillips treated him with the same disdain, hitting the left-arm wristspinner for three sixes in eight balls. The last of those sixes brought up Phillips’ fifty, off 22 balls.

By the end of the 11th over, New Zealand needed only 53 from 54 balls. Phillips, though, was in a hurry. Against Saad, he switched his hands and pulled him for a six over deep extra-cover, even though there was a fielder at the boundary line. Ravindra, who had taken the backseat, finished the over with another six. A few minutes later, he pulled Jaskaran through midwicket to bring up the victory.

Brief scores:
New Zealand 176 for 2 in 15.1 overs (Finn Allen 21, Glenn Phillips 76*, Rachin Ravindra 59*, Dilon Heyliger 1-42, Saad Bin Jaffar 1-29) beat Canada 173 for 4 in 20 overs (Yuraj Samra 110, Dilpreet Bajwa 36, Navneet Dhaliwal 10; Matt Henry 1-28, Jacob Duffy 1-25, Kyle Jamieson 1-41, James Neesham 1-38) by eight wickets

[Cricinfo]

Sports

Canada reacts as cheating row rocks curling superpower

Published

13 hours ago

2026/02/17

Priyan

Canada's Marc Kennedy was accused of double-touching stones when he released them [BBC]

A scandal at the Winter Olympics has left the Canadian curling teams on the defensive and Canadians reeling over the crack in their country’s polite persona.

Over the weekend, Canadian curler Marc Kennedy had an expletive-filled outburst after Sweden accused him of cheating during a match, and later said his team might be the target of a “premeditated” attack by their rivals.

Kennedy was accused of “double-touching” – touching the stone a second time after initially releasing it down the ice. The next day, Canadian women’s captain Rachel Holman was accused of using the same move.

Both have denied the accusations, but Canada’s curling teams, who historically have dominated the sport, now face questions over their tactics.

While the curlers have shown their anger over the situation during matches, fans of the sport and Canadians have questioned whether the team acted in the spirit of curling.

“It’s a sad day for Canadian sport,” Tim Gray, from Alberta, told the BBC. “Integrity in the sport is important, even if you have to call it on yourself.”

An opinion piece in the Canadian news outlet, the Globe and Mail, pointed to some of the frustration: “These Canadian curling teams are not fun bad guys. They come off like the sort of competitors who need so desperately to win that they will do anything – even things that are pointless – in order to get there.”

Cathal Kelly, the writer of the opinion piece, continued: “There’s an easy way out of this – stop struggling. Stop acting like our curling reputation matters more than our national one. Be the bigger man and woman, even if you don’t think you did anything wrong.”

The controversy began on Friday when Swedish player Oskar Eriksson accused Kennedy of double-touching.

As the game continued, Kennedy and Eriksson got into a verbal back-and-forth that included expletives.

Their exchange quickly went viral as a video appearing to show Kennedy touching the stone on occasion.

Kennedy got a verbal warning from World Curling for using foul language, but he was not formally charged with cheating by the governing body.

The next day Kennedy said: “I probably could have handled it better. But we’re human out there and there’s a lot of emotions. I’m not going to apologise for defending my teammates and standing up for myself.”

“I’ve curled my whole life, never once with the intention of getting an advantage through cheating,” he added.

Then, Canadian curling had another instance of purported cheating.

Match officials accused the Canadian women’s team on Saturday of the same double-touch violation.

Rachel Homan who said there was a “zero percent chance” of the violation, as she and her teammates looked on frustratingly. The Canadians lost to the Swiss, 8-7.

On Sunday, Great Britain’s men’s team was accused of the same violation.

Both Homan and British men’s curler Bobby Lammie had stones removed from play due to alleged violations.

Homan later slammed the officials’ decision to remove her stone during a defeat to Switzerland, saying it was “insane”.

All of the incidents led World Curling to clarify that double-tapping is not allowed.

“During forward motion, touching the granite of the stone is not allowed. This will result in the stone being removed from play,” they said.

World Curling does not use video to review play, but they did send two officials to monitor how players released their stones in subsequent games.

“Following a meeting with representatives of the competing National Olympic Committees, an update in the stone monitoring protocol has been confirmed, beginning with the evening session on Sunday 15 February,” World Curling said in a statement.

“This change in protocol will see the two umpires who had previously been actively monitoring athlete deliveries remain available in the field of play, but will now only monitor athlete deliveries at the request of the competing teams.”

AFP via Getty Images Canada's Rachel Homan (centre) delivers the stone during the curling women's round robin between Canada and Switzerland on 14 February 2026. — *Canada’s Rachel Homan slammed the officials’ decision to remove her stone [BBC]*

Reaction to the controversy in Canada has been mixed.

“Do I think the finger affects the rock, no I do not,” Ankara Leonard from the Royal Montreal Curling Club told the BBC. “Do I think we have to play within the rules? Yes.”

While curling columnist and Olympian Tomi Rantamaki, in an article for The Curling News, warned that Canada’s dominance in the world of curling means its players should be mindful of the influence they have.

“Young players in Finland, Korea, Italy, Sweden – everywhere – often copy what Canadian teams do. They copy the athlete’s delivery, the sweeping, the tactics, the communication,” Rantamaki wrote. “And they copy the behaviour.”

[BBC]