| Sports
|
||||
|
Looking
back on a dazzling year Cricket started the year with a bang when we outclassed Zimbabwe three nil. In the three test series against Zimbabwe spin maestro Muttiah Muralitharan achieved many milestones in his career. In the second test he returned his best bowling figures of 9 for 51 and then he broke Richard Hadlee's record of ten wicket match haul and also became the youngest player in the 125 years of test cricket history to take 400 wickets. The series also started with controversy with Marvan Atapattu being dropped by the selectors and then called back in the same series. In March Sri Lanka defeated Pakistan by eight wickets to clinch the Asia Cup. The next was the test series against England where the Lankans put up very pathetic display and being outplayed in the Natwest Tri Nation limited over series. Then they defeated the minnows of test cricket Bangladesh 2-0 and followed up by winning the inaugural limited over Morocco Cup defeating South Africa. In September the ICC Champions Trophy which was held in Colombo, the Sri Lankans tasted success again when they were declared joint champions with India. Since then a tour to South Africa ended with the Sri Lankans getting a thrashing in both the version. The selection of the Sri Lanka team as in the beginning of the year has not been solved with Romesh Kaluwitharana who was dropped for the South Africa tour getting the nod for the Australia VB series due to media pressure and then getting axed again. The on going VB series has been the worse ever for Sri Lanka. With the world cup which is just two months away, its high time the authorities take action. Or else it will another year of cricket for the sake of playing. Other sports too proved futile without any desired results being fulfilled. In athletics apart from Susanthika Jayasinghe, Damayanthie Darsha, Sugath Tilekeratne and a few others. There was no sign of any promising athletes emerging. Susanthika as usual showed the world that she is the queen of Sri Lanka athletes when she won two gold medals, 100 and 200 metres at the 14th Asian Athletic championship held in Colombo and then won a gold medal at the 14th Asian Games held in Busan, Korea. Susanthika was awarded the Duncan White for the second time this year. Damayanthie Dharsha was the other to win her event this year in Busan. Apart from the above named athletes who brought honour to the country this year. On the whole the athletes were not able to fulfil the desired results with all the training given abroad. Rugger was an utter flop this year with the exception of the local tournaments. Rugby in Sri Lanka has gone to the doldrums with clubs not allowing their players to play in the national team. Sri Lanka participated at the Asian Games in Busan, the 17th Manchester Games and the Asiad in all the three tournaments our team got a beating and where will we end at last. Hockey is a sport which has got step motherly treatment conducted local tournaments with only one tour abroad after several years. The 46th hockey nationals too was conducted without any sponsors or financial support from the ministry. Golf too need to be looked after with Sri Lanka's Anura Rohana who bagged the Bangladesh Amateur championships in January this year defeating the Pakistan champion went on to win a silver at the 14th Asian Games in Busan. Golf had many tournaments this year which augurs well for the sport. Netball players had the honour of winning the Asian Youth Championships which was held in Malaysia this year which they won for the second successive year. Apart from that there was no other positive performance at national level. The Sri Lanka Badminton Association celebrated its golden jubilee this year. The event was celebrated with felicitating all its past champions and officials who were involved in the upliftment of badminton. Schoolboy Niluka Karunaratne won the golden jubilee nationals this year. Chandrika de Silva won the women's category and also won the Satelite Badminton tournament in Bangladesh. We had three football teams Maldives, Pakistan and Vietnam coming over here to play friendly matches but our soccerites were unable to make any headway. Year 2002 was a year of controversy in all the sports administration with officials fighting to get into top posts and with the result it was the sportsmen and women who got effected. Selection or omitting of athletes or players to a team made things difficult for sport to prosper. Everything in the end has ended in controversy this year with no improvement in sports activities in Sri Lanka this year. Why
do our players shun fast pitches? The then Minister advised the Cricket Board to prepare fast pitches so that the Lankan team could prepare themselves in advance when they toured S. Africa and Australia. The reply by a senior official that there was no land available to prepare such pitches. Mr. Kiriella was quick to move and gave the Cricket Board - 40 perches from the (Premadasa Stadium), car park. Why was this facility, afforded to players was not used is the big question asked by cricket fans and administrators of club cricket. It's being given to understand by a senior source of the coaching committee that some players were not keen to train on those pitches - for reasons best known to them. If they have refused to practice on those pitches what action has the hierarchy or the selectors taken against them? Even the coach is answerable. Sri Lanka got bashed around in S. Africa - just winning a solitary one-dayer in Benoni despite Sri Lankan batsmen's appetite for pinch hitting. At present its a myth. Today other cricketing nations have studied how to curb the Lankan master blasters, who are made to grope in the dark. On the sub-continent they have reveled, on slow pitches. The Lankan team is continuing to suffer in the ongoing Australia tour losing all their matches todate. According to sources from Down Under (most of them being Lankans domiciled there) the performances of the present team has put the game to shame. Surely they have the experience to adjust themselves. What we would like to know is what sort of preparations they made before they embarked rather than just frittering away the funds like the River of no Return.. National selectors regularly go abroad with the tour party to watch them in action when they hardly go to see domestic cricket. Handled prudently Despite the Windies winning the World Cup in 1975 and 1979 and was dominating the international scene due to lack of future planning the game has slipped in the Caribbean. Besides their coffers too are empty apparently due to bad handling of its funds. In its wake the game, too has suffered. It needs ICC assistance. Legendary Vivian Richards the present chairman of the selection panel, with several old hands are helping trying to bring the game back to surface and if their recent performances in India are to be taken into account, they should bounce back well in time for the World Cup in February next year. |
||||
Copyright © 2001 Wijeya Newspapers
Ltd. All rights reserved. |
