President's Gold Cup Volleyball Championships :

Golden Birds, Siyane Tharu win men & women's c'ships
 

by Bernard Perera

Golden Birds Sports Club, Radawana, Gampaha and Siyane Tharu Sports Club, Gampaha won the Men's and Women's President's Gold Cup Volleyball Championship at the National Youth Services Council Courts at Maharagama on Tuesday evening.

Golden Birds SC defeated Aruna SC from Wasalamulla, Hambantota three sets to one. Aruna SC who were trailing behind their opponents 10-7 had to work hard to level at 23-each. It was a ding dong Battle from here and the set ended in favour of Aruna SC at 28-26.

In the second set it was Aruna SC who went ahead into an early lead. Gampaha lads caught up when the score was 5 and kept on moving further ahead there onwards. They never allowed the opponents to get closer to them and went on to win easily at 25-15 to level at 1-1.

The third set too was dominated by the Gampaha team leading from the word go. The only stage the Aruna SC came closer was when the scores read 10-8 in favour of Gampaha. Golden Birds moved smoothly to reach 20 points but at this stage Aruna SC fought back gallantly get closer to their opponent's total. Golden Birds skipper Saman Chandranath sensing the onslaught tough, got his team to work hard while he did his part well to win the set 25-20 and to go ahead 2 sets to one.

Once the fourth set commenced it was Aruna SC all way in front scoring at will. They kept this pace until the scores were levelled at 20-20. Gampaha lads too kept the pressure on their rivals though they were trailing right from the start. Soon after equalling Golden Birds SC put their act together to go forward to win the set 25-23 and also the match 3-1.

Saman Chandranath the skipper of the Golden Birds SC was adjudged as the most Valuable Player of the tournament and also as the Best Attacker for his excellent performances.

In the women's final too it was a hotly contested battle between Tharuna Pela Sports Club, Dambadeniya and Siyane Tharu Sports Club from Gampaha. Siyane Tharu won the contest three sets to one. The first set was completely dominated by Siyane Tharu winning the set 25-17. The lasses' from Gampaha never gave an opportunity to their opponents to get past their total at any stage.

In the second set Tharuna Pela Sports Club took sweet revenge beating the rivals in a close tussle at the end 25-23. Gampaha team was always behind their opponents they got the opportunity to even equal at any stage. This levelled the 1-1.

The early stages of the third set was dominated by Dambadeniya team with the score reading in favour of them 4-1. Siyane Tharu led by Sashika Samarasinghe put up a top class performance at this stage to get past the rivals. Dambadeniya again fought back to equalise at 10-10 and went ahead until they reached 17 points. Siyane Tharu equalised at this point. It was easy going from there onwards and took the set at 25-22 to lead 2-1.

Tharunapela Sports Club got off to a fine start with a determination to make a strong fight back to halt the high riding Siyane Tharu SC. They went collecting as many four points to take a lead. Strong Gampaha lasses' came out with better performance once again to level the scores at 8-8 all. But the Dambadeniya girls kept on moving ahead until the 15 point mark where Gampaha team with a fine display cruised through to finish the set and the match in their favour 25-21 (3-1).

The winners in both sections were awarded the President's Gold Cup and a cash award of Rs. 100,000. While the runners-up teams received trophy and cash awards Rs. 40,000 and 25,000 respectively.

The championships was sponsored by the Dialog GSM. (MTN Networks Ltd.) Prime Minister Mahinda Rajapakse who was the Chief Guest on the occasion speaking said all Sports Bodies should function independently. The government also has a big hand to play while assisting them in a big way. The Private Sector has been a big boost for sports sponsorships. This tournament itself proves that sponsorships played a vital role. We must be thankful to Dialog GSM for making generous contribution towards this National Sport of Sri Lanka. Their sponsorship has brought the whole country together through the national sport said Prime Minister.

Chief Executive Officer of Sponsors MTN Network Ltd. Dr. Hans Wijesuriya speaking on the occasion said that his company has been in the forefront when it comes to sports sponsorships. Once the cellular phones were a part of the elite crowd, but now it has become a common man's must. With this in mind my company decided to join hands with the national sport volleyball to give the masses their due. My company will continue to support volleyball not only at national level but also at international level said Dr. Wijesuriya.

President of the Volleyball Federation and Deputy Minister of Ports, Aviation and Media Dilan Perera said that it is a proud moment to see a packed stadium watch the final of the President's Gold Cup Championship.

This would not have been a success if not for the support extended by the sponsoring company headed by Dr. Hans Wijesuriya. We must pay a special tribute to our sponsors, said Perera. We were able to conduct the early stages in all parts of the country except the Jaffna district. Jaffna district organisers wanted us to run the tournament in the Northern Province under certain conditions laid down by them. But we did not want to bow down to their demands. That was the reason why we had to skip the Jaffna district stage.

He also paid a special tribute to Ampara District Associate for fielding 96 teams the largest number from the districts. He thanked all for their support extended in numerous ways to make this event a success.