Sports
Yodasinghe takes giant strides in 100 metres sprinting
by Reemus Fernando
Chamod Yodasinghe took a giant step towards cementing his position as one of the top sprinters in the country when he clocked a blistering time of 10.27 seconds to establish a new meet record in the men’s 100 metres at the National Sports Festival at the Sugathadasa Stadium last week.
The 24-year-old overtook Umanga Surendra (10.36 secs), Shehan Ambepitiya (10.31 secs), Chinthake de Soysa (10.29 secs) and Vinoj Suranjaya (10.27 secs) to occupy the third place in the all time best Sri Lankan performances in the men’s 100 metres.
The 10.27 seconds is the biggest gain the sprinter trained by Sanjeewa Weerakkody has achieved since he was introduced to the latter by his former coach Lalith Liyanage in 2018.
A late developer Yodasinghe had an impressive start to the last season when he clocked 10.37 seconds at the first selection trial for the Asian Games in March (2023). That was the first time he clocked sub 10.40 seconds and now he has reduced 0.10 seconds to be on par with some of the top sprinters the country has ever produced.
This year there were huge expectations when the national record holder Yupun Abeykoon arrived for the National Championships to pursue for his Olympic berth. Yodasinghe has largely remained unchallenged at local events and a possible dual between Abeykoon and Yodasinghe would have resulted in him producing his best. But when Abeykoon pulled out without completing the 100 metres heat Yodasinghe had no rival to challenge his bid for a third national title.
What Yodasinghe has achieved last week is remarkable considering the lack of competition and the deteriorating track condition at the Sugathadasa Stadium. After having reached his personal best what would be his target next? “My long term goal is the 2028 Olympics. Others include next year’s Asian Athletics Championship,” said Yodasinghe in an interview with the ‘Sunday Island’ after he was awarded the best athlete title at the National Sports Festival on Friday.
Performances such as Yodasinghe’s need to be applauded and he needs to be given necessary facilities to accomplish the target he has set for himself.
During the last five years he has proven beyond doubt that he is a true fighter and he has received the necessary backing from his coach Weerakkody to break barriers. But from now on the aim is to brush shoulders against world class sprinters. Such efforts need huge financial backing which Yodasinghe, Weerakkody and his employer Sri Lanka Army can not provide alone. Yodasinghe deserves the backing of a sponsor as he aims high and Weerakkody who is with the ministry of education needs to move his training base from Kandy to Colombo to be physically present with his charge. It is incumbent upon authorities to make necessary arrangements fast for this pair to reach their full potential.
Yodasinghe thanked his coach, the Army, the president of Sri Lanka Athletics and his training partners for the support given to reach where he is today.
He did 100m, 200m and long jump as a beginner at Dorawaka Sirinivasa MV before being introduced to systematic training at St. Mary’s College Kegalle. He was under Lalith Liyanage’s guidance from 2014 to 2018 and won podium positions at top national level in 2018. While most of the athletes who won top positions at junior level alongside Yodasinghe have either simply faded away or given up athletics Yodasinghe has blossomed at the right age to deliver exciting performances.
Tiny Cape Verde have become the history makers of World Cup 2026 by defying all odds to become the smallest country to earn a spot in the knockout stages of the competition.
Their improbable run through the group stage, with a third straight World Cup draw, was completed with a 0-0 draw against Saudi Arabia on Friday night to advance in the tournament.
Keeping goal for Cape Verde throughout has been Vozinha, 40, who has embodied the grit of his nation. “We are small, but we have big hearts and we are fighters,” said the goalkeeper, who last season played for Chaves in Portugal’s second tier.
The island nation off the western coast of Africa, which is making its debut on football’s grandest stage, already held 2010 champion Spain to a 0-0 draw – a shock in itself to begin their campaign.
They then came from behind to get a 2-2 result against Uruguay – the winners of the inaugural World Cup in 1930.
“The team was very eager to show this to the whole world,” Cape Verde coach Bubista said while draped in his country’s flag after the Saudi Arabia game.
“We are proud of having arrived at this stage. We have shown that we are a small country, but that we fight for the things that we want to achieve.”
Cape Verde’s three points put the team in second place behind Spain, which beat Uruguay on Friday night and won the group.
Cape Verde will play reigning World Cup champion Argentina in Miami on July 3.
[Aljazeera]
India suffered a potential injury scare ahead of the Test series in Sri Lanka, with their No.3 B Sai Sudarshan retiring hurt on 7 while playing for India A against Sri Lanka A during the third day of the first four-dayer in Galle. After scoring a century in the first innings, Sai Sudharsan retired hurt in the fourth over of India A’s second innings. By the end of the day’s play, however, India A had stretched their lead to 170.
Chhattisgarh opener Aayush Pandey and Devdutt Padikkal were unbeaten on 20 each at stumps.
India A had claimed a first-innings lead of 122 after dismissing Sri Lanka A for 330 in their first innings. Resuming from an overnight 113 for 2, they were guided by half-centuries from captain Sahan Arachchige (72) and Ashen Bandara (70). Nuwandi Fernando, who had passed his own fifty on day two, had his innings cut short on 84 on day three.
For India A, Auqib Nabi, who was the top wicket taker in the previous Ranji Trophy season and was a net bowler during India’s one-off Test against Afghanistan in New Chandigarh, was the pick of the bowlers, returning 4 for 58 in 19.4 overs. Sri Lanka A lost their last five wickets for 30 runs, with Nabi taking four of those.
Left-arm fingerspin-bowling allrounder Harsh Dubey and Vidarbha fast bowler Yash Thakur picked up two wickets apiece. India A then closed out the day on 48 for 0.
Scores:
India A 48 for 0 in 17 overs (Devdutt Padikkal 20*, Ayush Pandey 20*) and 452 for 6 dec in 111.4 overs [Sai Sudarshan 132, Dhruv Jurel 141, Shaik Rasheed 63; Chamika Gunasekera 3-64, Dilum Sudeera 2-143] lead Sri Lanka A 330 in 101.4 overs (Nuwanidu Fernando 84, Ashen Bandara 70, Sahan Arachchige 72; Aaqib Nabi 4-58, YashThakur 2-51, Harsh Dubey 2-84) by 170 runs
[Cricinfo]
Teams that finished in the top four of each group at the ongoing T20 World Cup have secured their spots for the next edition of the tournament in 2028. From Group 1, Australia, India, South Africa and Bangladesh have qualified. England, West Indies, New Zealand and Sri Lanka join them from Group 2. Pakistan qualified as a result of being the tournament hosts; they finished fifth in the Group 2 table with just one win in five games.
Scotland missed out on a chance to directly qualify for the 12-team ICC event after losing to Sri Lanka on Friday.
The 10th spot will go to the next highest-ranked team on the T20I rankings table at the July 6, 2026 cut-off. As it stands, Ireland, ranked ninth, fill that spot. The remaining two places will be determined through a 10-team global qualifier, which will be supported by regional qualifiers.
Netherlands, ranked 14th, are likely to have to play in the qualifier to make the main event. So too Scotland (11th) and Ireland (9th) if they fall too far down the table.
The ICC also made a decision on the composition of teams at the inaugural Women’s Champions Trophy, to be held next year in Sri Lanka. The hosts will be joined by the top five teams on the T20I rankings at the same July 6 cut-off. As it stands, the teams at the tournament will be Australia, England, India, New Zealand and South Africa.
[Cricinfo]
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