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Sports

Nimal takes the classic
In the "A" Division Classic Nimal Hettiarachi came pretty good with a par round and 36 points. He collected a Singer Fridge as tall as himself. Sarath Wickremaratne came 2nd and picked a shorter Fridge. The irrepresible Mano Wikramanayake distributed the awards with a well fixed broad simle.

Dias wins TV
Michael Dias spent the major portion of the evening describing to friends and acquaintances the secret of his victory in the "B" Division all over an abundance and uninterrupted queue of beverages provided by Maharaja. He was a popular winner judging from the applause he received. Sanjay Gunewardena had a special truck to collect his Fridge which came to him as 2nd prize. Ananda Jayasekera and Kumar Boralessa had splendid rounds of 36 each and Bandula Weerasinghe and D.M. Hettiarachi were impressive with 35 each. Dayananda Hewawasam was an absolute disaster with 12 points.

"C" Division
Celebrated cricketer of yesteryear and middle shelf golfer Neil Chanmugam gave away the "C" Division awards to Kiruba Kumarakulasingham and Sirinivas Rao who settled for 38 points each. They were each given hefty Microwaves courtesy of The Maharaja Organisation. Nimal Amerasinghe on 38 was unfortunate to be beaten as his back nine was inadequate. He was congratulated with several hand shakes.

Sharp senior
Norman Chandraratne continues to dominate the Senior Class. Despite a huge handicap to vision he came through superbly to win a king size Microwave, loud cheers from the packed audience and a bear hug from his wife.

Frank Weeraratne who came 2nd was not present at the ceremony and therefore missed out on a Microwave carrying a market value of 27.5% of one lakh. K.K.U. Perera with his Viennese Waltz swing took Weeraratne's place with glee. Petite Nedra Weerasinghe handled this part of the ceremony.

Gymkhana events
Mural Ismail was long off the 8th tee and with a 285 yard drive he collected a useful domestic appliance made by Singer. Arjun Fernando, the stylish left hander got closest to the pin on the 9th and took home a custom built Microwave handed to him by Aftab Usman.

Ladies event
Mrs. F.de.Mel all smiles and all jazzed up won a Fridge which was as tall as her and attractive Korean M.J. Kim embraced a Microwave, hand delivered by Shira Warnakuasuriya in front of cameras.

Disaster zone
There was a huge parade in the disater zone and a heavy collection of confetti. The pond boys were delirious with joy to pick a mass collection of balls with cash and carry for seasonal joy. The pleasurable 19th hole was lit up with a very special glow that only Maharaja hospitality can introduce into the atomosphere. There was hellish participation.

The award ceremony took off to a light hearted start introduced by Lalith Ramanayake, Captain of the Royal Colombo. He thanked Maharajas profusely for the excellence of their sponsorship and he remembered Neil Chanmugam, the man behind the scene unobtrusively. Mano Wickremanayake responded superbly studded in lighter vein which kept the capacity crown quite amused. A great event, a stunning party with very special camaradarie laced with swell Carol singing led by star Serala Athulathmudali.

Blind Faith the Band was exceptionally good but absolutely unkind to those who wished to dialogue. Sponsors must please remember that the music most appreciated is what you hear but do not listen to providing opportunity for dialogue.

Easy win for Nugegoda SWC
Nugegoda SWC registered an easy six-wicket win over Kaduwela SC in their limited over cricket encounter conducted by the BCCSL played at Padukka yesterday. Kaduwela SC taking first lease were able to muster only 110 runs and Nugegoda SWC reached the target losing four wickets in the process.

Kaduwela SC 110 in 39 overs (C. Priyanga 45: K. Abeyratne 3 for 25, K. Liyanage 3 for 14)

Nugegoda SWC 115 for in 25 overs (S. Ratnayake 26, D. Totamuna 24, A. Liyanage 24; S. Titus 3 for 21)

Moratuwa SC rout Swarnamuthu SC
In another match of the same tournament played at the De Zoysa Stadium in Moratuwa yesterday, Moratuwa SC routed Swarnamuthu SC by 198 runs. Moratuwa SC helped by three half centuries by C. Sampath, A. Peiris and S. Gunaratne scored a massive 302 and then bowled out their opponents for just 104. Moratuwa SC 302 (C. Sampath 52, A. Peiris 55, S. Gunaratne 94 n.o.; D. Liyanage 5 for 40) Swarnamuthu SC 104 (W. Peiris 41; Eranda Fernando 3 for 16, Nisal Malinga 5 for 21)-MSA

Goolam - a man for all seasons
By Bernie Wijesekera
Goolam Rajah, has done a tremendous amount of spadework, since he took over the reins as Manager of the S. African team, in 1999. He has been part of the national squad for five years. Before that he has served as assistant manager. Without doubt a capable organiser - a man of few words, but serves the game well.

He is a manager for all seasons. He never shuns the media and was prepared to meet and discuss problems pertaining to the game. He has the ability to sort out things with the players and concentrate on cricket and encourage them to work hard on the field. In its wake forge unity - to make S.Africa one of the top competitive teams.

There are barriers said, Rajah in sports (cricket). Everyone is given equal opportunities to play the game in the correct spirit. One must forget about the past and one can't live with it. The clouds have cleared but one must look forward for a better future. He is one of the top managers in the international circuit. His ability to study the opponents and help the team's aspirations. His communication has been the key to the team's success on and off the field.

After Sri Lanka's superb win in the third one-dayer in Benoni, he was the first to commend their performance, along with Media Manager Gerald De Koch. The Lankans are a good side don't give up hopes.

They have the talent to make an impact with a concerted effort. The jubilant Lankan team took off to the hotel, while the S. Africans immediately had a long team discussion to find out what went wrong. Rajah contributed his views along with coach Eric Simmons. Rajah doesn't believe just carrying out administrative work.

Rajah was always willing to speak to foreign journalist -at times they may be troublesome. He said their attention is focused in the coming World Cup. Whatever we are doing towards the end and their preparations are good with an unstinted effort. Number of new faces have come into the South African squad, and they are faring reasonably well. A mixture of youth and experience.

According to Rajah since South Africa joined the big league in 1992 to play for the first time in the World Cup they have not looked back. Striving to make an impact to be in the forefront, in the process to bring about reconciliation, via sport. Rajah has pumped his energy to make it a reality. He commands respect all round. With just days away from the Big show - the World Cup come Feb. 2003 - Goolam fittingly has been seconded to organise the teams in the run-up to the 2003 ICC World Cup.

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