Lyceum International School, Nugegoda booked a berth in the pre-quarters of the on going inter-school under 13 division three cricket tournament organized by Sri Lanka Schools Cricket Association when they beat Saralankara Maha Vidyalaya easily by 114 runs in their match played at Kotte.

Batting first visitors declared at 154 for 9 with Rumesh Saranga Scoring 45 runs and Shenal Balasingham captured 4 for 36 and in reply homesters were all out for 268 rusn with Duwindu Silva and Abilash Pathirathne scoring 58 and 54 runs respectively. Tharusha Madushan claiemd 5 for 53 for the visitors. They are coached by Lal Senarathne.

Saralankara MV– 154/9 dec. in 37.1 overs – (Rumesh saranga 45, Dumindu Weerarathne 31, Saduntha Madushanka 23, Shenal Balasingham 4/36, Adeesha Randika 3/21).

Lyceum International School– 268 in 49.5 overs – (Duwindu Silva 58, Abilash Pathirathne 54, Shenal Balasingham 35, Nadeer Herath 27 n/o, Tharusha Madushan 5/53, Chamod Punsara 2/58, Avishka Udayanga 2/66). 

All rounder Sayuru Sasanka Peiris of Weera Puran Appu Model School,Moratuwa became the first under 13 division three cricketer to pass the magical 1000 runs in the on going under 13 division three cricket tournament conducted by Sri Lanka Schools Cricket Association. When he wallced upto the crease against formidable and more fancied Holy Cross College Kalutara he had under his belt 941 runs in ten innings with an average of 94.1. He made a well compiled chanceless 157 runs to bring his tally to 1098 runs in eleven innings at a Bradsmanque average of 99.8.

Perhaps he may be the first ever under 13 division three cricketer to pass the thousand run mark and to score seven centuries.

This is his fourth successive century and it may be a record too. He opened batting with E. A. sahan and the pair put on 112 runs for the first wicket and Sahan Contributed 57 runs. Sayuru had 24 hits to the rope and three over. By virtue of this huge victory Moratuwa lads are through to the pre quarters. Batting first visitors piled up 301 for 3 in their alloted 55 overs and in reply Holy Cross College were bowled out for a paltry 125 runs with E. A. Sahan and Senal Sasmitha claiming two wickets each.

He scored 124 runs against Science College Mt. Lavinia and versus St. Anthony’s School, Kadalana 184, Defence College Colombo 160, against Siddartha Vidyalaya 109. Versus York International 160 against D. S. Senanayake Beruwala 103 and versus Holy Cross Kalutara 157.

Weera Puran Appu Model School– 301/3 in 55 overs – (Sayuru Sasanka Peiris 157, E. A. Sahan 57, Kavindu Sasintha 30).

Holy Cross College– 125 in 37.2 overs – (Dermina Fernando 24, Sachintha Rohana 20, Senal Sasmitha 2/14, E. A. Sahan 2/1). 

I have not met Anura for some time since I published my third book “Saga of the Maroons,” his help was invaluable for me during that period. I have never met such a talented statistician who had facts and figures at his fingertips be it school cricket or Test cricket. Anura was a guy who never cowed down to anybody since he knew his onions inside out.

He broke his long silence by calling me recently. I hurried along the following day to see him at a place close to Godagama and six foot Anura greeted me warmly. It was a pity that Anura didn’t have any takers at present.

Anura is unique in the scoring fraternity and has held different position in a career spanning 15 years.

When Bandula Warnapura was at the helm, Anura joined SLC as a rookie data entry operator. Some part of his work involved formulating statistics based on scorecards. He worked 20 days per month on a daily payment of Rs 350/day and the balance days of the month he was free to perform scoring duties since he was qualified to do so. During this period Anura sat for the finals of the All Ceylon Cricket Umpires Association final examination and came third in the batch. He recollected that the person who came first was a chap by the name of A.Franke who at present is the manager at the NCC and the guy who came second was a person by the name of Chamara de Silva who is in charge of the scoring duties at Sri Lanka Ports Authority. Anura lamented about the position that he was in now in comparison to the ones who finished first and second in that particular examination.

In the year 2010 he was promoted as the cricket coordinator of Sri Lanka School Cricket.

Anura stressed the fact that during this tenor D.S. de Silva was at the helm of affairs at Sri Lanka Cricket. He pointed out that De Silva was keen to improve the lot of schoolboy cricketers from remote areas and D.S. together with Anura visited those areas to improve their infrastructural facilities and also to give training for those coaches enabling them to obtain licenses. According to Anura, De Silva gave exposure to most of the schoolboy cricketers in the island far and wide.

Anura missed the bus for the second time, when seeking promotion, but this time by a mere whisker when he went for the interview in 2011, the post was Sri Lanka Cricket-School Cricket manager, this time around Anura came second to Carlton Bernadus. Anura agreed that Bernadus had better credentials but he was of the view that he should have got the assistant manager’s post which existed in other areas of SLC. Anura reminisced that some of the members of the panel consisted of D.S. de Silva, Nishantha Ranatunga and Sujeeva Rajapakse.

Anura stated that he was hard done again by the time he appeared again the post was for S.L.C. School Cricket Manager, for the third time he missed out as Senaka Angulugaha got the post.

Further blows came Anura’s way when one guy above got the retiring age down to 57 years, as a matter of fact Anura categorically stated that this blow was targeted at Duleep Mendis who was not in the good books of the higher ups then. Anura lamented that there were guys who were well over that age limit who are still warming the chairs at the citadel.

Anura was also one of the founder members of Sri Lanka Scorers Association, he was also the president of that Association from 2012 to 2013. He was the official scorer of the Royal/Thomian matches from 2003 to 2013.

He now holds the position of Secretary of Sri Lanka Tape Ball Federation.

Tape ball cricket is mainly played in Pakistan, India, Bangladesh. According to Anura tape ball was introduced mainly to simulate turf wicket conditions. The ball weighs 69 gms and is heavier than a cricket ball which weighs 5½ ounces. The cricketers who play tape ball develop strong shoulders and Shoaib Akthar is a classic example. By the way the originator of tape ball cricket is a Sri Lankan by the name of Waruna Kularatne. The present Minister of Sports has an idea of developing tape ball and Anura stated that he was being earmarked to be in charge of this project.

Anura still has many feathers in his cap, he is the Vice President of the Softball Federation of Sri Lanka till 2021.

Regarding the step motherly treatment he was dished out at the S.L.C. Anura candidly replied that he was an active member of the their staff welfare association and he was instrumental in the organization of blood donation camps, New year festivals, Christmas parties, funeral duties etc which did not go down very well with a certain inner circle which were differently inclined. 

Asheville: Former world number one Serena Williams said she felt on the “right track” despite a crushing loss in her long-awaited comeback to tennis on Sunday playing alongside big sister Venus in a Fed Cup dead rubber.

The duo, who have combined to win 22 doubles titles, were outgunned by the unheralded Dutch pairing of Lesley Kerkhove and Demi Schuurs who were playing in their first ever outing together.

The Williams lost 6-2, 6-3 with 36-year-old Serena appearing particularly slow on her feet and poor in her shot selection after more than a year away from the sport.

But she was determined to put on a brave face after the loss took some of the shine off the Americans’ otherwise decisive 3-1 win that booked their place in the next round against France in April.

“It felt really good to be back the court. I’ve been training and it was just exciting to be out there,” she said.

“I honestly feel better than I thought I was gonna feel, I feel like I didn’t expect to play you know like that for me. So I feel like that I’m on the right track.”

It was Serena’s first competitive match since winning her 23rd major at the 2017 Australian Open. The American star took time away from the sport to give birth to her daughter Alexis Olympia and get married, to Reddit co-founder Alexis Ohanian.

Both were in attendance over the weekend, seated just behind the players’ box.

Serena had previously said that her path back had been full of “ups and downs”, crediting Venus with helping her regain her rhythm.

On Sunday she was happy with the power behind her shots even if her accuracy wasn’t quite where it should be.

“I didn’t expect to have that much power on my serves,” she said. “Even though they didn’t go in, it’s just the start, I feel like that’s a very good step in the right direction.”

And she hinted she needed to juggle the demands of motherhood against her career better.

“I didn’t manage my time well,” she said. “This is literally my first time travelling with the baby and everything so I’m gonna try to do better.”

Home crowd support

There had been speculation Serena may drop out of Sunday’s doubles match, after she did not turn up for practice in the morning with the three other US players. But team captain Kathy Rinaldi confirmed her participation after Venus won her singles match against Richel Hogenkamp to seal overall victory for the US.

“Serena’s gonna be joining her sister Venus!” she announced, to roars of approval before Williams appeared dressed in a white top, dark blue shorts topped off with a red headband.

The Americans had enjoyed enormous support all weekend from the sold-out 5,200-capacity crowd in the mountainous city of Asheville, North Carolina, famous for its historic architecture, breweries and vibrant art scene. The dead-rubber was supposed to be the feel-good, icing on the cake, but the Dutch players had other ideas.

“To play the two Williams sisters, it’s amazing because we won the match,” said Kerkhove, 26.

“We knew it just 30 minutes before the match. We just both gave it our all and we just had nothing to lose.”

The Dutch players’ ability to soak up the pressure was all the more remarkable given that Schuurs, the younger of the pair, was just six-years-old when Serena won her first major tournament. Venus’ participation meant there was no room for Lauren Davis, the US’ fourth player.

The seven-time Grand Slam winner, who enjoyed a renaissance year in 2017, earlier shook off a scratchy start to prevail 7-5, 6-1 in her singles match, ensuring the US could continue their defence of the title.

More Fed Cup?

Ahead of the tie, Serena had refused to be drawn on her Grand Slam hopes for the year.

She had initially targeted last month’s Australian Open and a defence of her 2017 title but struggled during an exhibition match against Jelena Ostapenko in Abu Dhabi in December, forcing her to revise her plans.

But she hinted Sunday she could make herself available for selection for the US’ next round clash in France in April.

“I think ultimately it’s up to Kathy, she has a plenty of players to chose from,” she said, referring to team captain Kathy Rinaldi. “So many Americans are doing great, hopefully I’ll be able to be an option, I’ll be doing better by then,” she said. AFP

Sydney, Monday: Former Wallabies captain and administrator Sir Nicholas Shehadie, one of only two Australian rugby players to be knighted, has died aged 92.

Shehadie, who played 30 Tests between 1947 and 1958, a record at the time with three of those as captain, passed away in hospital late Sunday, Rugby Australia said.

He was regarded as one of the all-time great prop forwards and an institution in the Australian team for a decade, playing a total of 114 games for the Wallabies.

Shehadie was inducted into the International Rugby Board (IRB) Hall of Fame in 2011 in recognition of his services to the game and for being a key architect in establishing the World Cup.

His lobbying helped the IRB vote to create a World Cup in 1985 and he was appointed joint chairman on the Rugby World Cup committee.

His post-playing career was just as formidable and he served as Lord Mayor of Sydney in 1973 -- a period marked by the official opening of the Sydney Opera House.

Shehadie was knighted in 1976 for his mayoral service, becoming only the second Wallaby to receive the honour after Sir Edward “Weary” Dunlop.

He was also appointed a companion of the Order of Australia in 1990.

“(He was) a wonderful, wonderful Australian ... a beautiful man,” former Wallabies coach and radio broadcaster Alan Jones said.

“It’s going to leave a hole in the heart of many because people like Nick Shehadie don’t come along very often.”

Shehadie, husband of former New South Wales state governor Dame Marie Bashir, served as president of Rugby Australia from 1980-86 and was also chairman of the multicultural SBS television network between 1981 and 1999.

Business leaders and politicians honoured him on social media. AFP

London, Sunday: Matt Ritchie condemned Manchester United to a shock 1-0 defeat at struggling Newcastle, while Liverpool cemented their top four place with a 2-0 win over Southampton on Sunday.

United’s second defeat in their last three Premier League games leaves them 16 points behind leaders Manchester City.

Jose Mourinho’s second placed side, beaten by Tottenham in their last away game, were rarely at their best at St James’ Park and paid the price in the 65th minute.

United defender Chris Smalling was booked for needlessly diving inside his own half and from the resulting Jonjo Shelvey free-kick, Dwight Gayle latched onto a header and played a backheel towards Ritchie.

His run was completely untracked by United’s sloppy defence and the Newcastle winger fired low past David De Gea. Mourinho responded by pulling off Paul Pogba after another underwhelming display from the France midfielder.

And United should have equalised soon after, but when Newcastle failed to clear a corner, Anthony Martial saw two shots blocked on the line by Gayle.

“Newcastle fought like animals, I hope they take that as a compliment. The gods of football were on their side,” Mourinho said.

“It wasn’t going to happen for us today. Newcastle gave what they have, that’s a beautiful thing in football.

“We made a defensive mistake and when they are in front they had only one thing in mind and gave their lives to keep a clean sheet.”

Newcastle had kicked off in the relegation zone, but a first win in five league games -- their first success against United since 2013 -- lifts them to 13th place.

At St Mary’s, Liverpool moved above Tottenham into third place as goals from Roberto Firmino and Mohamed Salah killed off lowly Southampton.

Jurgen Klopp’s side, who featured former defender Virgil van Dijk on his first return to the club he left in January, took a sixth minute lead when Brazil forward Firmino netted for the 20th time this season.

Saints defender Wesley Hoedt made a hash of dealing with Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain’s pass, allowing Salah to tee up Firmino for a clinical finish.

Liverpool increased their lead in the 42nd minute when Firmino turned provider for Salah with a fine flicked pass that the Egypt forward slotted home for his 29th club goal of a dream first season with the Reds.

Klopp’s men are four points clear of fifth placed Chelsea, who face West Bromwich Albion on Monday, as the battle hots up to qualify for the Champions League via a top four finish.

“It was not a brilliant performance. It was difficult circumstances with the wind. We did the job. That is very important,” Klopp said.

“We scored early, got the second goal in the right moment and then controlled the game.

“We want to finish the season top four and we need the points.”

Southampton are third bottom following their first defeat in five league matches.

Huddersfield climbed out of the relegation zone after a 4-1 win against Bournemouth at the John Smith’s Stadium.

David Wagner’s team took a seventh-minute lead as Alex Pritchard collected Steve Mounie’s pass and drilled in his first Huddersfield goal since his January move from Norwich. Junior Stanislas equalised for Bournemouth with a cool finish from Ryan Fraser’s cross seven minutes later.

But Benin striker Mounie restored Huddersfield’s advantage with a 27th-minute header and Steve Cook’s own goal put the hosts in control in the 66th minute.

Rajiv van La Parra converted a stoppage-time penalty to lift Huddersfield out of the drop zone.

Huddersfield’s first league win in nine matches was marred by an injury to Australia midfielder Aaron Mooy, who was stretchered off with a knee problem 15 minutes from time. AFP

Pyeongchang, Monday: Angry snowboarders said the “dangerous” women’s slopestyle final at the Pyeongchang Olympics should have been cancelled after vicious winds caused a string of crashes on Monday.

Nearly all the athletes, including American winner Jamie Anderson, tumbled at some point at the frigid Phoenix Park, where strong winds forced Sunday’s qualifiers to be scrapped and also delayed the final for more than an hour on Monday.

It was the latest event at the Games to be disrupted by the swirling wind, with the prestigious men’s downhill skiing moved to Thursday.

None of the snowboarders suffered major injury, but the International Olympic Committee (IOC) and International Ski Federation (FIS) faced questions as to why the final was not shelved.

The FIS admitted that conditions were “challenging” but defended the decision to go ahead with the event, saying the safety of the athletes was their top priority.

Enni Rukajarvi mastered the conditions better than most and took bronze behind defending champion Anderson and Laurie Blouin of Canada, but the Finn said her achievement had been overshadowed.

“Most happy that no one got hurt really bad,” she said.

Asked whether it had been the right decision to hold the event, she replied: “It wasn’t. It was better in the practice, but then it got really bad, so they should have cancelled it or moved it.”

The 27-year-old added: “The weather was bad and too dangerous and I got a lot of wind in my run, so that was bad, too. I had a fall and hurt my chin a little bit so it wasn’t too nice.”

On Sunday, 17-year-old Tess Coady, the youngest member of the Australian team in South Korea, was forced out of the Games after wrecking her left knee in training.

Coady blamed the weather and Austrian rival Anna Gasser said: “So many people got hurt because of the wind already.”

Gasser, who finished 15th, called the competition “a lottery” and said: “I don’t think it was a fair competition and I’m a little disappointed in the organisation that they pulled through with it.

“From my point of view I think it was not a good show for women’s snowboarding.”

Britain’s Aimee Fuller, who finished 17th after crashing, branded the conditions among the toughest she had competed in and said she had “no chance” of landing her last jump when she was caught by one strong gust.

“It was for sure not what I wanted, not what I expected, not what I dreamed of for my Olympic final,” said the 26-year-old, who was unhurt in the fall.

“There were huge gusts of wind -- I’ve decided to call it the Pyeongchang Gust.”

Anderson, 27, became the first woman to win two Olympic snowboarding golds, despite briefly falling too in her final run. AFP

The Annual Inter House Sports Meet of Prince of Wales' College, Moratuwa will be held on February 14 commencing at 2.00 p.m. at the College Grounds.

The Chief Guest will be the additional secretary of school affairs of Ministry of Education Ashoka Senani Hewage and the Guest of Honour will be an old Cambrian, Geethaka Warnakula.

New York: Doping guru Grigory Rodchenkov has emerged from hiding, donning a disguise and reiterating that Russian President Vladimir Putin wants to silence him for good.

The controversial whistleblower and former head of Moscow’s anti-doping laboratory says he is risking his life by exposing Russian doping secrets.

In his first televised interview since fleeing his native Russia, Rodchenkov told the American news programme 60 Minutes on Sunday night that he continues to live in fear in the United States.

“Kremlin wants me to stop talking,” Rodchenkov told interviewer Scott Pelley.

Since fleeing to America in November 2015, he has gone into hiding because he says Putin wants him dead -- a claim he has made several times previously.

The news magazine programme allowed Rodchenkov to wear a disguise and showed him putting on and walking around in a bulletproof vest.

“(The disguise) was done for security reasons,” says Rodchenkov, who dyed his hair a different colour and shaved his mustache. “There is information that my life is in jeopardy and we took all necessary steps.”

Rodchenkov’s escape to America followed the sudden death of two senior officials from Russia’s anti-doping agency. There is a warrant out for his arrest back home. AFP

Gangneung: Finland forward Riikka Valila, who followed her brothers into hockey at age seven, is now a mother of three and the oldest women's hockey player in Olympic history at age 44.

In Finland's 3-1 opening round-robin loss to the United States on Sunday in their Pyeongchang opener, Valila also became the oldest Winter Olympian in Finland history, replacing figure skater Ludowika Jakobsson-Eilers, who was 43 in 1928.

"To be able to do it once again, to be able to do it in that age, I'm very thankful," Valila said.

"After Sochi, I felt good in my body and I still felt that I can improve, I can be better on the ice. I don't have to prove anything to myself or anybody else. I just enjoy playing... I'm getting better and I can help the team.

"After this season is over, if everything feels good, then I continue."

Valila, who has played on six bronze-medal world championship Finnish teams, helped Finland to Olympic bronze in 1998 in women's Olympic ice hockey debut. She was also on the 2002 squad that placed fourth but retired in 2003 to start a family. AFP

It was business as usual for Sri Lanka’s leading spinner Rangana Herath who arrived home after helping his team win the two-Test series in Bangladesh 1-0 and with it also achieving a personal milestone of becoming the most successful left-arm bowler in Test history.

“When you play cricket you don’t expect those kinds of success but to reach the milestone is a big achievement,” said Herath on his arrival yesterday.

The veteran spinner who has become Sri Lanka’s match-winner in Test cricket since the retirement of Muthiah Muralitharan eight years ago not only bowled his team to a series clinching win in the second Test at Dhaka but by taking four wickets for 49 runs in the second innings he took his tally of Test wickets to 415, one more than Pakistan’s left-arm fast bowler Wasim Akram to become the most successful left-arm bowler in this format.

“As a left-arm bowler when you reach the higher level those are the things that you can achieve but apart from that the most important thing is winning the game. I am happy with my achievement but much happy that it came with winning the Test and the series,” said Herath.

“I have to mention a few people who have made it possible for me to achieve it especially the coaches, family friends and Sri Lanka Cricket. Without their help I wouldn’t have done it. I thank everyone who has been behind me throughout my career,” he said.

Herath said that Chandika Hathurusingha coming as head coach has certainly lifted the playing standards of the team.

“We have a good set up and especially with Hathu now we have a good environment. The knowledge he has he knows how to share it with the players and get the best out of them. Hathu and the coaching staff have done a lot of things so far. I know Hathu very well for the last 18 years from 1998 and I know how capable he is as a coach,” said Herath.

“Mentally the confidence has gone high in the team and we need to continue with the performances and the mentality. In the current environment we can hopefully do that,” he said.

Herath is not getting any younger by the day he is 39 and is not looking too far ahead in his career which has been restricted to playing Test cricket only.

“As I have always said I don’t have big plans. I always concentrate on what my next series is. At the moment I am only concerned about the West Indies tour,” Herath said. Sri Lanka are due to tour West Indies for a three-Test series in May.

With Herath nearing the end of a remarkable career the series in Bangladesh produced two promising spinners who are expected to take over the mantle once he retires.

One of them is off-spinner Akila Dananjaya who made a dream debut at Dhaka by capturing eight wickets in the match that included five wickets in the second innings.

“Dananjaya was fantastic playing his first Test and taking eight wickets. I can see a big future for him and better performances from him in the future. He is not new for us because he has played in the T20 World Cup and ODI cricket and has been around as an off spinner. He couldn’t get a chance to play Test cricket because of Dilruwan Perera. Finally when he got the chance he showed what he can do,” said Herath.

Of the other spinner Lakshan Sandakan who bowls left-arm chinaman, Herath said, “Sandakan still needs to improve his bowling to get to where he should be. Akila was preferred because he has more control which is what Sandakan needs to improve on.”

Suranga Lakmal, Dilruwan Perera, Roshen Silva and Lahiru Gamage who were part of the Test squad were the other Lankan cricketers who returned with Herath yesterday.

Emerging Sri Lankan wheelchair tennis star D S R Dharmasena clinched the men’s singles title beating his Korean opponent Sang-Ho OH in the final 6/3, 3/6, 6/1 at the Negombo Open International Wheelchair Tennis Championship concluded in Negombo yesterday.

Dharmasena who is ranked among the world top 100 displayed a superb performance on clay courts during the four-day tournament beating experienced Lankan ace cum present national singles champion Gamini Dissanayaka in the semis 6/2, 6/3 and Korean top seed Ha-Gel Lee in the quarters 6/2, 7/5. According to present ITF wheelchair tennis rankings, Dharmasena is ranked 95 and with this victory he will be able to better his world ranking. The 28-year Sri Lanka Army player in his short tennis career reached the singles world ranking 91 and doubles ranking 41 in June, 2017. At present Dharmasena is ranked world number 47 in doubles rankings.

Dharmasena showed great promise from the beginning of the final, winning the first set comfortably. But Sang-Ho OH bounced back strongly to win the following set. Dharmasena came up with a superb performance in the third set and sealed his victory routing his Korean rival with ease.

Altogether 14 Sri Lankans entered round one of the men’s singles event and only three of them reached the quarterfinal stage.

Korean duo Ha-Gel Lee and Sang-Ho Ho bagged the men’s wheelchair tennis doubles title defeating Malaysian pair Firdaus Ibrahim and Yushazwan Yusuf in straight sets 6/2, 6/0. The women’s singles and doubles events were not conducted.

The tournament is an event of ITF Future Series and players from France, Australia, India, Thailand, Malaysia, Korea, Israel and Sri Lanka vied for the men’s singles crown.

It has been a great achievement by Dharmasena who has shown great promise in recent times. This tournament has paved a good platform for local players to weigh their skills against some of the top world players and gain much needed international level exposure.

Sri Lanka is hosting three back-to-back ITF wheelchair events, commencing from the Negombo Open. The much anticipated Sri Lanka Open will be held at the Sri Lanka Tennis Association clay courts from February 14 to 17 and will be followed by the SSC Open from February 18 to 21. The ITF Wheelchair World Team Cup qualifications too will be held in Sri Lanka from February 22 to 25.

Sri Lanka has come a long way in the international wheelchair tennis scene, producing some players among world top 100 and the forthcoming four tournaments will provide great experience to local players while allowing them to improve their world rankings. Wheelchair tennis has become a Paralympic medal hope of Sri Lanka and hosting international tournaments will greatly help to mould Lankan players as international stars.

Cricket is a sport of various formats. Test, One-Day International and Twenty20 cricket. The newest entrant in the world of cricket is Ice Cricket Challenge, which was played in the Swiss alps.

Modern greats faced off for two T20 matches in the resort town of St Moritz in temperatures below zero degrees. The matches were played on a frozen, snow-covered lake. An artificial turf carpet was placed in the center to use as a pitch.

The two teams were captained by Virender Sehwag and Shahid Afridi. And the participants included Mahela Jayawardene, Mike Hussey, Zaheer Khan, Lasith Malinga, Graeme Smith, Jacques Kallis, Shoaib Akthar among others.

Afridi’s Royals defeated Sehwag’s team in both the matches to complete a 2-0 whitewash.

It was a unique experience for the yesteryear stars and they want to see more of it.

“It’s a beautiful place and It’s a very new experience, “former Indian pacer Zaheer told Sports Tak. “It’s something that we have never seen. All the players are loving the experience.”

“It’s a terrific experience, playing in the snow,” said former Australian cricketer Hussey. “I loved the experience and would love to comeback.”

The tournament was also an opportunity for the former players to share the dressing room with their former rivals and relive the old memories, but the event didn’t lack the feel of an international match.

“A professional player will always be competitive. The focus is on winning the matches,” added Zaheer.

“There was a big crowd and they got their money’s worth as the matches were pretty interesting,” said former Pakistan fast bowler Akhtar. “There were big sixes, fours and wickets. So everything was there.”

“The cricket we witnessed was very competitive,” said former Pakistan all-rounder Abdul Razzaq.

The tournament was extra special for fans from India and Pakistan, who are starved of international cricket between the two neighbours.

“India and Pakistan are not playing enough international cricket, so ice cricket is compensating for it,” told former Pakistan captain Afridi.

“We can see cricket fans are present here from all over the world and the presence of Indian and Pakistan cricket stars have brought them to ice cricket.

The format is cricket’s entry into the world of winter sports and players feel it can help popularise cricket in other European nations or help the game become a part of Winter Olympics.

“Ice cricket is a terrific idea and I hope ICC will look into it. Hope we will get to see international matches on ice in future,” said Razzaq.

“It has been a very successful initiative and can be used to popularise cricket in other countries which receive snow.”

“It will be a great move to include cricket in Olympics,” said Hussey. “T20 will be a good format. Short and sharp and also very entertaining.”

In the first match skipper Sehwag struck a quick-fire 62 to set a target of 165 for Afridi’s XI to win the match. Former Pakistan all-rounder Abdul Razzaq returned match figures 4/18 from 4 overs.

In reply, Owais Shah hammered an unbeaten 74-run knock to single-handedly win the match for the Royals.

In the second match, Jacques Kallis struck an unbeaten 90 as Royals defeated Sehwag’s Palace Diamonds by eight wickets. Sehwag’s XI put up a formidable score of 205/5 in 20 overs that Afridi’s XI chased down with 20 deliveries to spare.

The Diamonds once again batted first and Andrew Symonds unbeaten 67 and a late attack by Mohammad Kaif (57) helped the Diamonds reach 205. Abdur Razzaq was once again the most successful bowler with three wickets while Daniel Vettori and Grant Elliot chipped in with a wicket each.

Chasing 206, Kallis topped it all with a brilliant 90 off just 37 deliveries. During his big knock, Kallis hit 13 boundaries and four sixes. Along with him, man of the series - Owais Shah stepped up once more with a quick-fire 43. - Indiatoday

Kavika Dilshan took a match bag of nine wickets for 85 runs to give St. Aloysius College Galle a ten-wicket win over D.S. Senanayake College in their ‘Singer Cup’ Under 19 inter-schools cricket match played at Galle International Cricket Stadium yesterday.

Spinner Pasindu Ushetti of Maris Stella Negombo took 10 wickets for 65 runs in the match in their 90-run win over Prince of Wales Moratuwa at Kadirana.

Sri Sumangala College Panadura, Madampagama Central College and St. John’s College Nugegoda also won their matches. The rest of the matches were drawn.

Meanwhile on day one of the match between D. S. Senanayake NS Ampara and Badulla Central College at Badulla 30 wickets fell.

RESULTS:

* At Galle: St. Aloysius Galle won by 10 wickets.

St. Aloysius: 283/7 decl. and 11/0 in 2.1 overs

D.S. Senanayake: 112 (17/4 o/n) in 46.2 overs (Chamath Yatawara 24, Kavika Dilashan 5/27, Niluksha Dulmina 3/16) and 178 in 47.4 overs (Chamath Yatawara 53, Pasindu Avishka 47, Harin Buddhila 4/48, Kavika Dilshan 4/58)

* At Kadirana: Maris Stella Negombo won by 90 runs.

Maris Stella: 172 and 111 in 36 overs (Roshen Fernando 33 n.o., Lasith Croospulle 23, Savindu Peiris 6/57, Kaumal Nanayakkara 4/35)

Prince of Wales Moratuwa: 116 (98/7 o/n) in 40.1 overs (Suwath Mendis 25, Avindu Fernando 20, Pasindu Ushetti 5/34, Naveen Fernando 3/30, Malin Fernando 3/31) and 77 in 30 overs (Vishwa Peris 30, Ravindu Fernando 5/25, Pasindu Ushetti 5/31)

* At Sooriyawewa: Match drawn.

St. Servatius Matara: 191 and 155/9 in 56.3 overs (Keshara Nuwantha 43, Ruwan Chanaka 3/39)

Gurukula Kelaniya: 212 (116/3 o/n) in 73.1 overs (Pruthuwi Roosara 40, Kemira Nayanatharu 36, Nuwan Chanaka 33, Lasindu Arosha 31, Shahsika Dulshan 3/58, Supun Kavinda 2/23)

* At Panadura: Sri Sumangala Panadura won by inns & 153 runs.

Kegalu Vidyalaya: 88 and 119 in 37.2 overs (Umesh Wijethunge 58, Nipuna Deshan 4/19)

Sri Sumangala: 360/8 decl. (244/4 o/n) in 74.5 overs (Pasindu Sahanadith 103 n.o., Nipuna Deshan 63, Isuru Umanga 42, Mihiranga Harshana 48, Janidu Induwara 32, Pasindu Madushanka 26, Missaka Ranasinghe 5/139)

* At Kandy: Match drawn.

Vidyartha: 195 and 277 in 57.4 overs (Kasun Karunathilake 64, Ravishka Upananda 63, Isuru Prabodha 56, Pulina Gunathilake 30, Dulantha Kavindu 4/98, Bhanura Wijesooriya 3/91)

Royal Panadura: 193 (171/8 o/n) in 50 overs (Nipun Chanuka 43, Dulantha Madusanka 38, Dushan Malinga 21, Medunaka Wijethilake 4/37, Kasun Karunatilake 3/56, Dumindu Imantha 2/22) and 117/8 in 34 overs (Dulantha Kavindu 27, Nipun Chanuka 26, Medunaka Wijethilake 5/48, Kasun Karunathilake 3/46)

* At Karandeniya: Match drawn.

Karandeniya Central: 250 and 171/7 decl. in 40.4 overs (Ishara Madhuwantha 47, Samith Isuru 46, Ishan Pramodya 31 n.o., Gihan Madusara 27, Tharanga Sampath 3/47, Avishka Perera 3/59)

Asoka Colombo: 179 (156/8 o/n) in 52.1 overs (Pasan Shavinda 49, Tilshan Kavinda 40, Tharanga Samparh 24, Ravindu Milan 5/56, Lakshitha Sandeepa 2/19, Samith Isuru 2/19) and 194/7 in 55 overs (Vimukthi Sandeepa 74 n.o., Anuk Pasandull 27, Tharanga Sampath 24 n.o., Udesh Renuka 21, Ishan Pramodya 3/72, Ravindu Milan 3/72)

* At Padukka: St. John’s Nugegoda won by inns & 60 runs.

St. John’s Nugegoda: 354/6 decl.

Ananda Sastralaya Mathugama: 148 (56/2 o/n) in 51.5 overs (Gihan Randika 36, Shehan Hirudika 35, Ulindu Prabashwara 23, Thanusha Sandaruwan 4/44, Shaveen Hathwella 3/22, Mithila Poornajith 2/32) and 140 in 34.2 overs (Pasindu Dilshan 41, Ulindu Prabashwara 28, Vidura Manthika 20, Mithila Poornajith 4/49, Shaveen Hathwella 2/13, Thanusha Sandaruwan 2/60)

* At Madampagama: Madampa Central won by inns & 152 runs.

Christ King Pannipitiya: 73 and 55 (2/0 o/n) in 17.5 overs (Tharindu Nirmal 27, Udesh Chathuranga 4/16, Malsha Tharupathi 3/17)

Madampa Central: 280.

* At Matugama: Match drawn.

St. Thomas’ Kotte: 207 and 206/5 decl. in 56.5 overs (Bandara Rathnayake 83, Jineth Perera 59, Madushan Perera 26, Lahiru Dilshan 3/72)

St. Mary’s Mathugama: 224 (120/5 o/n) in 77.2 overs (Sanjula Krishan 51, Heshan Tharinda 49 n.o., Namal Madushanka 23, Naveen Devinda 23, Charuka Dilshan 7/81, Themindu Shanal 2/68) and 18/1 in 7 overs

* At Hanwella: Match drawn.

Karunaratne Buddhist Ragama: 130 and 199/8 decl. in 44 overs (Renuja Sashimal 60 n.o., Viraj Vihanga 48, Isuru Udesh 5/44)

Rajasinghe Central Hanwella: 154 (149/9 o/n) in 68.1 overs (Shakthi Udara 37, Isuru Udesh 33, Isuru Udana 26, Kavindu Amantha 3/48, Ushitha Subodha 2/24) and 156/7 in 50 overs (Isuru Udana 76 n.o., Kavindu Amantha 5/82)

DAY ONE SCORES

Matches will be continued today (13) for day two.

* At Mt. Lavinia: Lumbini: 179 in 67.3 overs (Kaveen Kemitha 43, Laknidu Upendra 38, Dishan Fernando 22, Prabath Madhusanka 20, Vimukthui Kulathunga 20, Shanon Fernando 6/33, Thevin Eriyagama 2/30)

S. Thomas’ Mount Lavinia: 126/3 at close in 27 overs (Manthila Wijerathne 49 n.o., Dulith Gunarathne 46 n.o., Pasindu Nandun 2/18)

* At Campbell Park: Wesley: 273 in 76.1 overs (Movin Subasinghe 82, Hasith Geesara 47, Sakuntha Liyanage 33, Thisura Akmeemana 30, Buddhima Wijesundara 28, Shenal Dangalla 22, Nipun Danajaya 6/74, Avindu Shehara 3/66)

St. Joseph Vaz Wennappuwa: 34/2 at close in 16 overs

* At Kurunegala: Dharmapala Pannipitiya: 293 in 62 overs (Avishka Hasarinda 101, Malith Sandakalum 69, Ashen Egodage 40, Kaveen Bandara 4/66, Sanjeewan Priyadarshan 2/35 Dulaj Ranathunga 2/54)

Maliyadeva Kurunegala: 164/1 at close in 3 overs (Supun Sumanarathne 82 n.o., Muditha Premadasa 51 n.o., Chaluka Atapattu 21)

* At Asgiriya: Trinity: 181 in 41.4 overs (Trevon Percivel 63, Hasintha Jayasooriya 33, Dinuka Dilshan 5/27, Akila Mendis 3/9)

Dharmasoka Ambalangoda: 150/9 at close in 50 overs (Ravindu Rashantha 40, Isurinda Mendis 36, Kavindu Nadeeshan 20, Rashmika Nimshan 3/25, Kavishka Senadeera 3/27, Vimukthi Nethumal 2/45)

* At Balapitiya: Revatha Balapitiya: 164 in 44.1 overs (Chathun Kavya 36, Avishka Dilshan 23, Dimuthu Kumara 23, Sithum Akilanka 5/32, Shehan Silva 2/32)

St. Sebastian’s Katuneriya: 233 in 50.2 overs (Kavindu Irosh 138 n.o., Rashmika Mendis 36 n.o., Dimuthu Kumara 4/59, Kavindu Dilhara 2/79)

* At Matale: Anuradhapura Central: 299 in 76.1 overs (Chamodya Induwara 89, Madhuranga Sri Chandrarathne 42, Janith Chamuditha 40, Ashmika Prabodhana 35, Geemantha Senanayake 3/83, Shashika Bandara 2/33, Mohomad Ismail 2/63)

St. Thomas’ Matale: 29/4 at close in 17 overs (Sithum Niluminda 2/09, Sasindu Dilshan 2/14)

* At Kirindiwela: Kirindiwela Central: 164 in 78 overs (Vibuthi Priyan 61, Ashan Madushanka 29, Salinda Hapuarachchi 4/29, Maleesha Bhagya 2/24)

Bandaranayake Central Veyangoda: 102/1 at close in15 overs (Sajith Madusanka 68 n.o., Malindu Manabharana 25 n.o.)

* At Henegama: Henegama Central: 174 in 34.2 overs (Ishan Harshana 44, Risitha Sankalpa 3/58, Dhananjaya Bandara 2/21, Ravindu Rasanka 2/29, Damith Chathuranga 2/30) and 211/4 at close in 35 overs (Pramith Darshana 53, Sasanka Dulaj 52, Samith Harshitha 50 n.o., Sisikelum Lochana 24)

Veluwana: 68 in 31 overs (Ishad Lahiru 6/11, Samith Harshitha 2/06)

* At Katugastota: Kuliyapitiya Central: 359/9 decl. in 65.2 overs (Madhawa Herath 138, Heshan Jayasekara 90, Chathun Ransinghe 49, Sandaruwwan Wijerathne 3/93, Dilshan Arambegedara 3/123, Madushan Paranavithana 2/73)

Sri Rahula Katugastota: 138/5 at close in 27 overs (Chamika Samarasekara 44, Kushan Lakdilu 2/21)

* At Badulla: D. S. Senanayake NS Ampara: 109 in 38.1 overs (Pasan Dewmina 44, Yasindu Duwanga 21, Asanga Wijesekara 4/14, Anuja Abeyanayake 4/45) and 83 in 25.3 overs (Pahasara Dharmadasa 4/03, Themiya Bandara 2/10, Chirath Akalanka 2/24)

Badulla Central: 48 in 24.2 overs (Tayeshan Sulakshana 5/21, Yasindu Ruwanga 2/3)

* At Sandalankawa: Sandalanka Central: 125 in 42.4 overs (Nidula Abeyrathne 25, Mithun Ravindu 24, Pasindu Geethanjana 3/16, Sachintha Sahan 2/23, Ayesh Devmina 2/11) and 12/0 at close in 2 overs

Sir John Kotalawala MV Kurunegala: 68 in 33.1 overs (Pasindu Geethanjana 29, Ravindu Wijenayake 3/20, Induwara Wijethilake 2/9, Saumya Niwanthaka 2/18) - YK 

The Korean government and people humbly share the pride of hosting PyeongChang Olympic and Paralympic Winter Game. In particular, Korea hopes that as the Seoul 1988 Summer Olympics served as an opportunity to overcome the Cold War between East and West and promote unity, the PyeongChang Winter Olympics, the second Olympics in the ROK, will provide the momentum for peace and prosperity on the Korean Peninsula, in Northeast Asia and around the world by becoming the driving force behind the resumption of inter-Korean talks and North Korea’s participation in the Olympics.

Marking another chapter in the history of the Olympic Games, the PyeongChang 2018 Games will be an excellent opportunity to further promote Olympic values in Asia. Korea is hosting the first of the next series of Games to be held in Asia, followed by the Tokyo Summer Olympics 2020 and the Beijing Winter Olympics 2022. In particular, Asia is a blank canvas in terms of winter sports and has immeasurable potential to open new horizons in the field. PyeongChang is dedicated to promoting winter sports and attracting investment throughout Asia.

PyeongChang is located in a mountain range in the east of South Korea at an altitude of 700 meters above sea level. With long winters and heavy snow, it is an ideal setting for winter sports.

With its favorable geographic location in Asia and access to emerging and fast-growing markets, PyeongChang 2018 hopes to create a legacy of new growth and potential. Indeed, PyeongChang 2018’s vision is to open up ‘New Horizons’ for the Olympic movement and for the world of winter sports. The Organizing Committee aspires to expand winter sports in Asia and transform Gangwon Province into a winter sports hub and tourist destination.

With our optimized design of the venue, all Games-related facilities are located within a 30-minute radius of the PyeongChang Olympic Stadium and Plaza. Accordingly, participating athletes, spectators and media will be able to easily travel between venues. This will be conducive to competition-centered and athlete-oriented Games, where everyone will be able to enjoy optimum performances by athletes.

Along with the array of sports competitions, the Cultural Olympiad for the PyeongChang 2018 Winter Games will offer an exciting program of culture, entertainment, festivals and educational activities held across the country which aims to connect everyone to the Games.

The 40-day festival will welcome all and run through until the final day of the Paralympic Winter Games on March 18.

There will be exhibitions and performances of leading traditional and contemporary Korean artists, street parades, cheering events and K-pop concerts.

The PyeongChang 2018 Olympic Torch Relay began in Korea with the arrival of the Olympic flame on November 1, 2017, which also marked 100 days to the Olympic Winter Games Opening Ceremony. 7,500 torchbearers have traveled 2018 kilometers by various means of transportation representing the past, present, and future of Korea.

President of the Organizing Committee for the 2018 PyeongChang Olympic and Paralympic Games, LEE Hee-beom, remarked “It will also be a Winter Games that will open up new horizons for Gangwon Province as a tourist destination, and Asia as a winter sports hub for us all to enjoy for many years to come”.

There has been a lot wrong with our first-class domestic cricket and despite several attempts to put it right by past administrators and by the current administration in office no concrete decisions have been arrived at to formulate a system that is most suitable to provide a high level of competition that could bridge the big gap that exists between the current standard of cricket played and Test cricket.

It is only in Sri Lanka that one finds the country’s domestic cricket keep changing to the whims and fancies of the administration that is elected or appointed to office. By doing so there has never been a proper structure in place to ensure the cricketers are provided with a base to play competitive cricket. With the exception of a handful of clubs that compete very strongly with each other, matches played have been so lopsided that there are occasions where a 3-day or 4-day game has finished inside two days. This sort of results do great damage to the first-class system in the country and makes a mockery of what first-class cricket is all about. No one benefits by such competitions and the performances only give a false impression to the public and national selectors and do not paint a true picture of the cricketer himself. That is one of the main reasons why our cricketers struggle to compete with other countries at top level when they make their entry into international cricket.

Omesh Wijesiriwardene, a former Sri Lanka A and under 19 fast bowling all-rounder with plenty of experience of playing domestic club cricket and English league cricket was of the opinion that in the last decade or so the first-class cricket played in Sri Lanka has remained the same with no improvement in the playing standards.

“There are enough of ways to do it or go about it. In our country with spin being dominant there is no chance as we play most of the matches on dusty pitches with no signs of improvement. We have to make changes if we are to move forward,” said Wijesiriwardene who is in his first season as coach of the Sri Lanka Ports Authority team playing in the Super 8 of the Premier League.

Wijesiriwardene who is always looking at the positive side of things and wanting to improve the game managed to have two overseas players representing Sri Lanka Ports Authority in the ongoing Premier league.

“Why we cannot produce good fast bowlers is that our fast bowlers have still not mastered the art of how to reverse swing with the Kookaburra ball. I have played with Mohammad Sami (the Pakistan fast bowler) and we are good friends. I brought Sami’s bowling partner in Karachi Adeel Malik and played him in our domestic tournament first round. He bowls differently according to situations and sessions. When you talk to him you learn a lot of things how he sets batsmen up to get their wicket,” said Wijesiriwardene.

“I remember Kumar Dharmasena (who played with me for Bloomfield) who umpired our first match saying that he has never seen a bowler reverse swinging the ball both ways. The way Adeel sets up batsmen was unbelievable. Sometimes he does not have a final leg at all he sets the field in a unique way and then reverse swings the ball surprising the batsman,” he said.

“In Sri Lanka we are doing the same thing every time. We are way behind time at least by four years in developing new techniques. By the time we start doing things other countries have developed new methods. This must change we cannot be bringing foreign players or coaches all the time to learn new techniques in bowling. We must know how to update ourselves.”

Another area Wijesiriwardene delved into was why our fast bowlers get injured regularly.

“Why they are getting injured is easy to understand. They hardly get to bowl in domestic matches. For instance in one of our matches a fast bowler didn’t bowl the entire day, the entire attack was based on spin. We can’t do this every day. It is obvious that fast bowlers break down when they play in a Test match because they are not fit enough to bowl for five days,” Wijesiwardene observed.

“We need to play at least 3-4 fast bowlers in every match in club cricket which is not happening at the moment. We also need to change the type of balls we use from Kookaburra to Duke balls which lasts long and are hard. With a Duke ball you cannot spin it as much as the spinners enjoy doing with the Kookaburra. They have to work hard to get a grip on it and get spin. The seam of a Duke ball is flatter than a Kookaburra. It is good for the bowlers because they will have to work hard for their wickets rather than get them cheaply with less effort.”

The presence of Nick Compton the former England Test opener in the Sri Lanka Ports Authority dressing room has done wonders for the team, according to Wijesiriwardene, a UK qualified Level 2 coach.

“We need to improve our local cricket culture. In the dressing room we just don’t discuss cricket but with Nick coming that has changed. He has got talking to the young players and started expressing and exchanging ideas with them which is good. Inside a dressing room we need to improve our cricket culture not only on the field,” Wijesiriwardene said.

“The way I see it we need to have more overseas players coming and playing for our local clubs so that our players will benefit by their experience. If we play with them only we will also learn a lot about their professional approach and how they handle themselves on the field,” he said.

Well that is a player cum coach’s perspective and food for thought for SLC if they are really keen on developing our domestic cricket structure.

Girls’ winners - Paddapthirippu Girls High School, Jaffna team with the champion trophy and medals

Pandateruppu Girls High School - Jaffna and St, Joseph College - Maradana emerged girls’ and boys’ champions respectively in the All Island Under-14 Inter-Schools Soccer Championship sponsored by the Plenty Foods’ ‘Samaposha’ brand for the ninth successive time and concluded at the Race Course grounds recently.

Jaffna girls displayed a superb teamwork to rout much fancied Kurunegala Maliyadewa Balika Vidyalaya 2-0 in the girls’ final while Joes edged out Gateway International College, Rajagiriya 3-0 in the boys’ final. Maliyadewa Balika maintained a superb record since the inauguration of this tournament and has qualified for the final in six occasions. But the under dogs Jaffna lasses left no room for their Kurunegala opponents to steal the crown this year. The Gateway International College, Rajagiriya will mark the first ever international school presence at a final of this tournament’s history.

Krishanthi Rajendra from Pandateruppu Girls High School was adjudged the girls’ Best Player and her schoolmate Sharmila Suriyakumar was awarded as the Best Goal-keeper. Mahajana College, Jaffna secured the girls’ third place.

Pathum Gimhana of St, Joseph’s College was picked as the boys’ Best Player while Thisula De Silva of Gateway International College was awarded the boys’ Best Goal-keeper award. De Mazenod College, Kandana won the boys’ third place.

Over 10,000 school children from 548 schools across the island vied for honours at this year’s edition. Altogether 30 boys’ teams and 21 girls’ teams lined up for the preliminary round matches. Qualifying matches were held at five locations in Colombo.

Shammi Karunaratne, Director/CEO of Plenty Foods said: “As a company dedicated to encouraging young people to achieve excellence in sports and enjoy an active lifestyle that ensures good health and fitness, we take great pride in sponsoring the under 14 Inter-School Football Championship and are please to congratulate this year’s champions.

The Chairman of the Football Federation, Anura De Silva said: “We greatly appreciate the important role CBL plays as a long standing sponsor. This has contributed significantly to uplifting sports in Sri Lanka and inspiring school children to focus on sports that will help building a healthy nation.”

The Senior Managers at CBL Penty Foods, Shammi Karunaratne (Director/CEO) together with Theja Peiris (COO), Jayanga Perera (General Manager, Marketing), V.P. Govinna (Brand Manager) and Sisira Gunawardane (Promotions Manager) were also present at the award ceremony. 

Kasun Dhanushka Subasinghe added another trophy to his illustrious riding career as he was awarded the Supermotard 250CC National Champion award for 2018 at the recently concluded National Awards Night, conducted by the Federation of Motorcycle Sports in collaboration with the Sports Ministry. The award ceremony was held at the Grand Monarch Reception Hall, Thalawathugoda on January 19.

The 28-year riding sensation is considered the king of Supermotard 250CC event from a long time as he has proven his supremacy winning many annual national level competitions. He setup a record by winning the Supermotard 250CC title in 22 events at a stretch from 2012 to 2015.

Kasun Dhanushka first won the National Champion award for the event in 2013. He maintained a superb record as Nuwara Eliya Road Race winning the event in four consecutive years, 2014, 2015, 2016, 2017. He bagged four first places, two second places and the National Champion award for Supermotard 250CC event in 2017.

With the rapid popularity of motor sport in Sri Lanka, Kasun Dhanushka became a riding star with his superior performances at many of the national level events.

He has shown great promise in the Supermotard 250CC event and hopes to better his performances in years to come. He appreciates the great support he receive from his family and his sponsor Nadun Wijesekara. Kasun Dhanushka also thanked Pasindu Enterprise, Dankotuwa who provided with all technical assistance and for repairing his bike.

“I would also like to thank the Shane Racing Team who always stand by me, encouraging me to do better,” Kasun Dhanushka concluded. AA

Dr. Nimal Lucas won five gold medals and one silver medal in table tennis events at the New Zealand Masters Games held in Dunedin, New Zealand from 3-6 February 2018.

In the Over 70 age category, Dr. Lucas won gold medals in the men’s singles, men’s doubles (partnered by John Bell) and mixed doubles (partnered by Janet Calder). In the Over 75 age category, he won gold medals in the men’s singles and men’s doubles (partnered by Malcolm Campion).

In the Over 75 team event, Dr. Lucas (partnered by Bob Buchanan) won a silver medal.

As Dr. Lucas was the sole participant from Sri Lanka, he was partnered by New Zealand players in the doubles and team events

The Akkaraipattu Divisional team became Ampara district table tennis champions when they beat Sammanthurai Divisional team in the finals of the table tennis tournament organized by the District Sports Officer E. Easwaran and played at the Sammanthurai Presidential Sports Complex recently.

The champion players of this competition will have to contest at Provincial level competition which will be conducted by the Eastern Provincial Council Sports Department.