Musclemen in Saudi ordeal

By Udena .R. Attygalle

When 20-year-old G.W.U Duminda left for a job as a gym instructor at a gymnasium in Saudi Arabia he was a bodybuilder with a promising career.

On the 25th of this month he arrived in the Island after a harrowing misadventure in the Saudi Kingdom without the money he had hoped to earn but much the wiser .

His tale included accounts of being stripped of his clothes and his legs being chained and recollections of being held down by nearly 10 men to be given testosterone injections which he says has severe side effects. But as luck would have it, he escaped the injections and his demented employers

His story begins at the Leo Fitness Gym in Kalutara. He, along with friends Pradeep Tissera and Wijepala were working at the gym, when a Saudi named Yacob Al Ghazal. along with representatives from the local agency "Welcome Travels" paid a visit.

That visit was to be the starting point of an amazing sequence of events. Yacob offered the three a chance to work at Al Ghazal Gymnasium in Al Hofuf with a monthly income of about Rs 20,000.

Duminda says, " We were selected for the post from a group of about 160 interviewees".

After three weeks of work the Sri Lankans were told that they would be required to take testosterone injections. "We were scared as most of the others who had taken the injection had strange bumps on there bodies and some even had eye and kidney problems," said Duminda. He added that he had consulted an Indian doctor in Al Hofuf who had advised them not to take the injection. "The injection was supposed to increase body weight by 20kg , just like broiler chicken," said Duminda. Working conditions were also bad with them having to work 12 hours a day. The agreement was for eight hours . They were also barred from talking to any outsiders.

The three had refused to take the injection. Tissera who is married and is a father got down a faked fax from home stating that his mother had been in an accident. Citing this reason he flew back to Sri Lanka.

Meanwhile on the 20th of September Duminda was transferred to Damam. On the night of October 2, about 10 men had come in an attempt to forcibly give Duminda the injection. "But they had finally agreed to give him a week's time to think things over."

Things were getting desperate and the two remaining friends made plans to escape. On October 4 after work in the morning the two had run away at about 3.30 p.m. They had taken a train to Al Hofuf and had taken refuge in the house of some Sri Lankan friends .

At Al Hofuf they had gone to the police. But the treatment they got was shocking. The police had called up Yacob, who in turn had arrived at the police station and had continued to verbally abuse the two.

Calls to the Sri Lankan Embassy in Riyadh too had fallen on deaf ears and they had only volunteered a, "If you can afford the tickets, we will send you back home." All this had culminated with the police ordering that Duminda and Wijepala get 4000 Riyal and pay Yacob within 15 days if they wanted to go back home or face being thrown into jail.

After this Yacob had taken the two to what Duminda described as " a date farm in the dessert. " Here they were stripped of their clothes and their feet were chained and were locked up in two separate rooms.

They were not given any food, only water. Duminda believes this was an attempt to keep them trapped till the 15 days were up.

On the 25th at about 5 a.m when all were asleep, except for just one guard, the two had used the ruse of going to the toilet to discuss an escape plan ."The plan was to get the guard into an empty room and lock him up." But the plan had backfired with the door in the room having no lock. He had come out of the room and had shouted for help. Spotting an axe they had chopped through the chains. The friends had been left with no alternative other than to fight. " But we had to make sure that there was no blood or we would have been punished by the law."

After the guards had run away they had got dressed and run about 2km on the road. One of the guards had used a vehicle to try and overrun the two ,but they had escaped .

Back at the police they had better luck. The Major at the station was more sympathetic. He had been critical of Yacob,

In the end they were given a choice of either going back to Sri Lanka or follow up on the case.

The friends chose to come back home. Incredibly their air fares were paid for. As to who paid the fares is unknown. But the police, with Yacob also present, had asked for a written admission, stating that,' no harm had come to them from Yacob.'

This tale of three young Sri Lankans in a distant land leaves one with many questions. Among them is the question, "Do such things happen in the 20th century"?

Panadura restricts Tamil Union

A fine spell of left arm leg spin by Amila Perera helped Panadura SC to restrict Tamil Union to 246 all out in their Under 23 semi final clash at the SSC grounds yesterday.

Perera captured 5 for 79 as Tamil Union were made to struggle to compile a challenging first innings total.

On the adjoining NCC grounds only 10 overs of play was possible in the SSC - CCC semi final after heavy overnight rain left a soggy outfield and a damp pitch.

At SSC grounds:Tamil Union vs Panadura SC

Tamil Union-246 (Brigesh Jeganathan 14, N. Weeraman 39, Rally Tissera 15, Gayan Wijekoon 41, Sagara Kumara 28, Oshadie Warnapura 28, Ranga Dias 11, Sajeewa Weerakoon 18, Muditha Maduwantha 14 n.o; Janitha Hewawasama 2/45, Amila Perera 5/79)

Panadura SC-22/1 at close.

At NCC grounds: SSC vs CCC

CCC-24/1 (Damitha Hunukkumbura 12 n.o; Suresh Perera 1/80) (M.F.)

Kanthan upsets

Dinesh Kanthan of St. Michael's Batticaloa scored an upset win in the Junior Tennis Nationals when he beat No 2 seed Mufaddal Hazari in the boys under 10 singles at the National Tennis Centre Courts at Greenpath last morning.

Kanthan beat Hazari 9-4. The Nationals resumed after three days due to rain.

Top seed Amirith Rupasinghe crushed seed No 14 Revantha Subramaniam 6-2, 6-1 while No 7 seed Sashi Sabanathan beat Prataj Haputhanthri, the No 9 seed, 6-4, 6-4. No 3 seed Uditha Wickremasinghe beat Chavi Talagala in a hard fought match 2-6, 6-3, 6-2.

Aravinda's half choice

By Marlon Fernandopulle

Former Sri Lanka vice captain Aravinda de Silva who pulled out of the Zimbabwe tour in the eleventh hour is believed to have initially indicated his willingness to play only in the one dayers.

However the Sunday Times learns from reliable sources that the Interim Committee and the Selection Committee was not in favour of De Silva's request to play in the one dayers if he was not available for the three Test matches.

"The experience of De Silva is required more in Tests as itwill help in the overall process of blooding youngsters. If he is not availble for the Tests it is very unlikely that he will be needed in the one day series in Zimbabwe."

The Selection Committee is expected to add a few names for the five one dayers which begins after the three Test series.

Following indications that he will not be included only for the one dayers, Aravinda De Silva wrote to the Interim Committee to relieve him from the full Zimbawe tour. However this was only after the Selection Committee named the squad to Zimbabwe minus former skipper Arjuna Ranatunge.

Thus De Silva's letter requesting him to be released from the tour increased speculation that it was carried out as Ranatunge was omitted from the squad.

However considering Aravinda's immense contribution to Sri Lanka cricket the Interim Committee accepted Aravinda's withdrawl despite the cricketer being under contract with the Cricket Board.

Players under contract with the Cricket Board are expected to be available for all local and foreign tours.

While all existing contracts of the players will end in February next year, the Sunday Times learns that a close scrutiny will come into operation before fresh contracts are signed.

Currently players who are not in either the senior team or the A team are also contracted with the Cricket Board and enjoy the benefits that come along with the CB contracts.

Kiwi's Steve Dunne to be reprimanded by the ICC?

By Marlon Fernandopulle

New Zealand Umpire Steve Dunne who stunned the Cricket World with an atrocious decision at last week's Sharjah Cup Final is expected to be reprimanded by the ICC. Umpire Dunne had violated the ICC code of conduct by walking out of his TV room during the game and also for publicly commenting on a decision given by him.

Dunne had angrilly walked out of the TV room on hearing comments from TV Commentators regarding his decision where he ruled Aravinda de Silva out,caught at slips when TV replays clearly showed that the ball bounced on the ground before lodging between the slip fielder's legs.Infact he confronted the commentator and outlined his reasons for ruling the batsman out,which was subsequently explained by the commentator on Television.

According to the ICC code of conduct Umpires are not permitted to make public statements regarding any decisions.South African Umpire Cyril Mitcherly was removed from the ICC panel a few years ago after he made a public statement in a newspaper regarding a controversial decision involving a Mark Waugh hit wicket dismissal.

As Umpire Steve Dunne's final decision itself (ruling Aravinda out caught off the trousers of the fielder) came in for a lot of stick from all quarters, it is widely believed the he will face severe punishment from the ICC.

Former ICC umpire and presently Cricket Boards Director of Umpires K T Francis confirmed the fact that Dunne had clearly violated the ICC code of conduct for Umpires and is certain to be penalised."Dunne is in hot water and will have to pay the price ",Francis told the Sunday Times.

In the same game Umpire David Shepherd ruled out Romesh Kaluwitharana LBW when the ball took an inside edge from his bat before hitting his pads.It's time that the ICC takes a serious look at their Umpires(Shepherd in particular as he has been vey erratic lately) and begin to at lease impose a fine for dubious decisions of this nature instead of just attributing it to a human error.

Caddies now amateur golfers of distinction

In the last 2 years our 26-year-old caddie turned Amateur golfer Anura Rohana has been striking the high spots with distinction. He shot to recognition last year when he moved in to the Singapore Open championship playing in highly competitive company. On an unfamiliar course and unable to assess distances he slipped a couple of times but with his exceptional putting skills he managed to keep the game alive to end runner-up beaten by a very slender margin. This year he far eclipsed his previous achievement when he took the Malaysian Open in style and came back to Sri Lanka to conquer the Sri Lanka Amateur title. An outstanding player he is on the threshold of achieving much greater success.

K. A. Chandradasa

Another exciting player from the same stables as they normally say is that topshelf player K. A. Chandradasa. In the year 1994 he was runner-up in the Sri Lanka title event. He polished a few rough edges in 1995 and picked the title event comfortably out-classing several star players from the sub-continent. He moved to Pakistan in 1996 and surprised us all with an outstanding victory to take the Amateur title. Soon afterwards he was invited to India to participate in the All India Title event. He struggled for supremacy and eventually got beaten in the finals to go runner-up. In 1997 he was in Pakistan and playing through torrential rain he reached the finals beating two of their stars. In the finals he wilted under huge pressure of most unfavourable playing conditions to get beaten into second position. In 1999 he was in devastating form when he captured the Open Championship in Nuwara-Eliya.

Lalith Kumara

And finally we come to Lalith Kumara the youngest and smartest of the crop. Just 21 years the lad hits a stunning tee shot, firm with his irons and fairway woods he rarely errs on the greens. He won the International Championship and took the Indian Amateur title in 1999 with consummate ease. We have a fantastic trio happily recognized by the Sports Ministry and Sunil Jayakody the bouyant President of the Sri Lanka Golf Union has spread his charm to capture the Minister's consent to either send the trio abroad for training or bring in a coach of international repute to trim our rough edges and streamline our schemes.

Rover pinpoints……

Retire: No way!

At a popular restaurant at Wellawatte, Rover learns, that a discussion took place amongst those in the know how of cricket, that the former Sri Lankan captain had a meeting with the selectors on his request to find out what his future in Sri Lankan cricket is going to be.

Pat came the reply: One dayers perhaps, Test cricket, depending on form in domestic tournaments. The former captain's reply: This will not do. Replied selectors: Then retire.

Quick-fire reply from the former skipper: No way.

Not worth

The Interim Committee of the Cricket Board has called for explanations from a high official of the Board on many discrepancies. The reply was so vague that Rover learns that even the lawyers who read the report had said that it's not worth even the paper it is written on. What action does the IB intend to take on this official?

Painting the town red?

Who is the former leading official of a leading mercantile sport-body going wonky and painting the town red with baseless allegations. Reason being that he has been kicked out because he was poking his mouth into administrative matters, since he has been carrying tales from another top notcher of the parent body with the sole purpose of slinging mud. Enough is enough since no improvement was made when he had a say in this sport. But why now? Remember you cannot fool all the people all the time!

Who did this?

The popular much looked forward to Kreeda Visithuru programme on a popular TV station by various sports fans shown for the last 16 years has been stopped. Why. What is the purpose behind this?

How many?

How many national coaches of the various sports activities in Sri Lanka deserve to be appointed, since many of them have not represented the country in these sports!

Over to you Mr. Minister.

Age before youth?

It has been heard in netball circles that the junior coach, who has not sent an application, has been called for an interview and has been appointed to this post with all procedures being completely ignored.

The appointee has been a physical training instructress and has not represented Sri Lanka in netball at all. It looks as if she has been appointed because of pressure from a certain high official. Rover learns that the new appointee is over 50 years of age, so where does youth fit in here?

Over to you Mr. Minister. A lot of money has been spent on the netball squad with the hope that they would finish amongst the first ten at the World Championships in New Zealand. SriLanka finished 19 th out of 21 even losing to a new team making its debut.

Hats off to Sidat

Hats off to the chairman of cricket's national selection committee Sidat Wettimuny. He's not only not afraid to make bold decisions and stand by it, but is also fervently keen to build up a good working relationship with the media. A man of rare quality and a fine Sri Lankan indeed. His desire to talk to reporters and answer questions at anytime of the day only shows his genuineness in discharging his duties true to his image. The country needs more men like him.

SSC Centenary Squash from Nov 6

The SSC Squash Courts will be open to outsiders when it conducts its first ever open squash tournament as part of their Centenary celebrations conducted on behalf of them by the Sri Lanka Squash Federation from November 6 to 13.

In all 13 events will be worked from morning during the weekends and in the evening on weekdays, for Men and Women open, Mens intermediate over 35, Masters over 45, Mens Novices, Boys and Girls under 13, 15, 17 and 19.

The Squash Federation has planned out a tournament every month. They are the inter club, the Junior Asian Championships followed by the Nationals in December and the Otters Open in January 2000, including the respective hotel tourneys.

The Squash Federation having done a good job much to the liking of the Asian Squash Federation, there is a strong possibility of the Senior Asian Championships too being offered to be hosted by Sri Lanka in the year 2000, the only draw back being funds needed to house participants from over 25 countries.

The recently concluded Asian Championships was supported by the Ministry of Sports after 17 years for the games benefit so said Lt. Col. Sarath Jayawardena the President of the Squash Federation of Sri Lanka.

The SSC championships is the 4th National Ranking tournament to be held after the new set of office bearers took over.

The Squash Federation is insisting that all juniors that are participating should have eye protection wear which is mandatory according to the Asian and World Squash Federations.

Entries close on October 4 with the Secretary, Squash Federation of Sri Lanka or at the reception office of the SSC, at 5 p.m. The draw will be held on the same day at 5 p.m. at the SSC Pavilion.All participants could be present at the draw.

Captain's knock helps Galle win

The Galle Branch for the Visually Handicapped coasted to a 6 wicket win over the Gampaha Branch in their inaugural All-island cricket tournament played at the School of Blind at Ratmalana. Batting first, Gampaha were all out for 133 with skipper Bandusena scoring a half century inclusive of seven fours. Bowling well the Sri Lanka Captain for the Blind Chandana Kumara Suriyarachchi captured 4 for 11 and was instrumental in running out five batsmen.

In reply the Galle Branch helped by Chandana Kumara scoring 88 runs inclusive of one six and 11 fours, were able to win by 6 wickets.

This tournament is sponsored by Ceylon Hardware Merchants Association which has been organised as part of the Silver Jubilee Celebrations of the Sri Lanka Federation of the Visually Blind.

The next match will be played today between School of Blind Ratmalana and Galle at the Ratmalana School of Blind grounds commencing at 10 a.m.

Juhani second in diving

Juhani de Mel the former Thomain now diving in the colours of the Asian International School did remarkably well to finish in second place in the men's 3 metres springboard event at the recently concluded Swimming and Diving Nationals concluded at the Sugathadasa Indoor Stadium Pool.Esiri Kankanage was placed third in this event behind Juhani. Juhani was placed third in the men's platform event.

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