Sports

Yupun set to compete against star-studded lineup in June

Published

2 years ago

2023/05/17

Sahan Weerasooriya

Yupun Abeykoon

By Reemus Fernando

Italy-based sprinter Yupun Abeykoon is set to compete against a star-studded lineup that includes world champion Fred Kerley, Olympic champion Marcell Jacobs and Kenyan world leader in the 100 metres this season, Ferdinand Omanyala at the Golden Gala Pietro Mennea in Florence on June 2.

Yupun had a remarkable season in 2022 where he was Asia’s fastest performer in the 100 metres with a Sri Lanka record time of 9.96 seconds and bagged a bronze medal at the Commonwealth Games. He became the first man from the South Asian region to produce a sub 10 seconds, once considered an impossible feat for a sprinter from the region in the 100 metrres..

“When your entire focus is on your goal, you will reach levels of achievement that you never thought it would be possible,” wrote Abeykoon in a social media post after his name appeared alongside the names of some of the fastest men in history of the discipline.

The event in Florence will be one of the eagerly anticipated clashes of the season in the Wanda Diamond League circuit where Kerley, Jacobs and Diamond League champion and world bronze medallist Trayvon Bromell are set to clash for supremacy. They are also scheduled to meet at the Meeting International Mohammed VI in Rabat on May 28 as well.

The star-studded 100 metres lineup also includes Jamaican sprinter Yohan Blake who is history’s third fastest performer, though he has not touched the blistering 9.69 feat he performed in 2012 as of late.

All eyes will be on the likes of Bromell, Kerley and Jacobs but the Sri Lankan will be eying a great start to prove that his record-breaking 9.96 performance last year was not a fluke. He commenced the season early this month with a 20.60 seconds finish in the 200 metres at the Stadio Luigi Ridolfi, Firenze.

Yupun is the first Sri Lankan sprinter since the retirement of Olympic medallist Susanthika Jayasinghe to feature in such a star-studded lineup at a World Athletics event.

Sri Lanka’s highest-ranked track and field athlete is the prime medal prospect at this year’s Asian Games as the country’s athletics governing body looks forward to ending more than a decade-long medal drought at the regional event.

With Sri Lanka looking forward to sending teams for a number of international competitions the athletics fraternity will be eagerly waiting for Yupun to produce some exciting performances during the next few months.

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Latest News

PSL 2025 to resume on May 17, final scheduled for May 25

Published

10 hours ago

2025/05/13

Priyan

PSL 2025 will end a week after it was originally scheduled to (Cricinfo)

PSL 2025 will resume on May 17, with the final on May 25. While there hasn’t yet been a public decision on the fixture list or venues, the announcement confirms the league will end a week after it was originally scheduled to.

This was announced on X (formerly Twitter) by PCB chairman Mohsin Naqvi. “HBL PSL X picks up from where it left off,” he wrote in the post. “6 teams, 0 fear. Get ready for 8 thrilling matches starting 17th May, leading up to the Grand Final on 25th May. Best of luck to all the teams!”

PCB is expected to announce further details shortly, and though Naqvi’s tweet did not officially confirm it, the remaining matches are expected to be played in Pakistan. The league, which was postponed due to increasing cross-border tensions with India, has eight games left and the PCB, as well as several franchises, have been eager to conclude the season as early as possible.

The PSL held meetings with the franchises on Monday to discuss specific dates and venues. The most pressing issue is the availability of overseas players, with ESPNcricinfo understanding a significant number are unlikely to return. The asymmetry of player availability may also impact squads, with some franchises more confident about overseas players rejoining than others. To mitigate that, PCB has also considered a replacement draft to make up the numbers.

This also confirms that Bangladesh’s tour of Pakistan will not stick to its original schedule. The final of the PSL takes place on the day Bangladesh were to play their first T20I against Pakistan, in Faisalabad. BCB has said it is in active and ongoing discussions about the tour.

(Cricinfo)

Latest News

Ahmedabad likely to host IPL 2025 final

Published

10 hours ago

2025/05/13

Priyan

The Narendra Modi Stadium in Ahmedabad is likely yo host Qualifier 2 and final of IPL 2025

While the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) has yet to officially announce the venues for the final and the first two playoffs – Qualifier 1 and the Eliminator – Cricbuzz understands that the Narendra Modi Stadium in Ahmedabad has been shortlisted to host Qualifier 2 and the final, scheduled for June 1 and 3 respectively.

The plan could change if the forecasts turn completely inaccurate, as weather remains the only reason the BCCI has withheld announcing the venues for the playoffs. The board is closely monitoring the monsoon’s movement across the country before finalising the schedule. The expectation, however, is that there is unlikely to be any rain in early June in Ahmedabad as of now.

As for the first two playoffs matches, Mumbai remains a potential option, but the final decision will hinge on the timing of the monsoon’s arrival. The city experienced heavy rainfall a few days ago, and the weather has remained overcast since. The BCCI is expected to decide soon. If a North Indian venue like Delhi, Jaipur, or even Lucknow is likely to remain unaffected by the wet weather, the board may opt for one of those instead.

In all likelihood, the BCCI will not shift the IPL bandwagon to a new city for the playoffs and the final. The venues will most likely be among the six cities already allotted the 17 remaining league matches of the season following the suspension. The key factor influencing the BCCI’s decision is operational – transporting broadcast equipment and setting up infrastructure at a new venue would be logistically challenging.

Logistics, in fact, is the primary reason the BCCI did not allocate matches to Kolkata, Chennai, Hyderabad, and Mohali/Dharamsala. Teams like CSK and SRH had only one remaining home game, and the board deemed it impractical to move broadcast equipment for a single fixture. Mohali and Dharamsala were ruled out due to recent border trouble, prompting the BCCI to make Jaipur the new base for Punjab Kings, who will now play their two remaining home games there. Kolkata is facing unpredictable weather, and that may be the reason why the final two games have been moved away from the Eden Gardens. KKR, anyway, had played all their home games in Kolkata already.

To further explain the decision, the BCCI is believed to have informed franchises that teams left with only one home game will play it in Delhi. This explains why CSK (vs RR) and SRH (vs KKR) are scheduled to play their remaining home fixtures in the capital. An exception has been made for the Wankhede – but then, Mumbai is a different case altogether.

Being at the heart of the IPL map, transporting broadcast equipment from Mumbai is not difficult. In fact, the equipment has remained at the Wankhede since the last game on May 6. Moreover, Mumbai is also in contention to host some of the playoff matches. As for Rajasthan Royals, although they had only one remaining home game, the decision to make Jaipur the new base for Punjab Kings made it convenient to allot RR’s final fixture to the Sawai Mansingh Stadium. In fact, Jaipur is now hosting three matches, post resumption, two of which are the home games of Punjab Kings.

The IPL is resuming on May 17 and it will have 17 games post break. Six centres – Mumbai, Lucknow, Ahmedabad, Delhi, Jaipur – will be hosting the games.

( Cricbuzz)

Sports

Police investigating death of Cricket Malawi operations director Arjun Menon

Published

18 hours ago

2025/05/13

Priyan

[File photo] Malawi were runners-up in Group A of the Men's T20 World Cup Sub-Regional Africa Qualifier in September 2024 [Cricinfo]

Arjun Menon, Cricket Malawi’s operations director, has died aged 48. Police are reported to be investigating the circumstances of his death in Blantyre, Malawi’s financial and commercial capital, on Sunday.

Menon played for Singapore and held coaching roles with various international teams including Chile, Botswana, Indonesia and Singapore before taking on the Malawi role in 2020.

“As Cricket Malawi, we are devastated by this loss because Arjun did so much to our transformative agenda,” Vivek Ganesan, the president of Cricket Malawi, told Nation Online. “All the successes we have so far are attributed to him. This is a very painful loss.”

Dr. Henry Kamata, CEO of the Malawi National Council of Sports, also conveyed his condolences in a statement. “Arjun was a dedicated coach and a passionate advocate for the development of cricket in Malawi,” he said. “His contributions to the sport were immense and far-reaching, playing a pivotal role in the growth and success of the Malawi cricket team on regional and international platforms.

“His commitment, professionalism, and vision were truly inspirational, and his loss is a devastating blow to the sporting fraternity in Malawi and beyond.”

During Menon’s tenure, the Malawi men’s team were runners-up behind Tanzania in Group A of the T20 World Cub Sub Regional Africa Qualifier in September 2024. The Under-19 women’s team, meanwhile, topped Division 2 of the 2025 Under-19 Women’s T20 World Cup Africa Qualifier, gaining entry to Division 1 where they achieved a seventh-place finish.

[Cricinfo]