Sport Extra

Sandhya Kumari –Victoria Golf Champ

S. K. Jiffrey Abdeen Kandy sports corr.

Twenty five year old Sandhya Kumari of Victoria Golf and Country Resort won the Sampath Bank Victoria Ladies Open Golf championship for 2007 organised by the Victoria Golf and Country Resort and sponsored by Sampath Bank and worked off for two days at the Victoria golf course at Rajawella off Kandy.

The golfers from Sri Lanka and many other countries enjoyed two days of exciting golf played under excellent weather conditions. The course of course was in immaculate condition maintained by the Course Manager Maheel Bulumulla under the guidance of the General Manager and British golf professional Mike Varney.

Sandhya Kumari playing to a handicap of 26 got 42 points on the first day and Rasika Ekanayake tied for the leaders berth with 42 points.

But Sandhya Kumari edged her out on a better back to nine count back. Sandhya Kumari had 9.24 and Rasika Ekanayake not far behind with 9.21 and the latter played to a handicap of 15. Versatile Suven Selvaratnam playing to a handicap of 9 totalled 41 points.

But on the second day registered a further 41 points to emerge winner with an overall total of 83 points. Suven Selvaratnam who gathered 39 points on the second emerged first runner up with a total of 80 points. Rasika Ekanayake getting only 36 points on the second day finished third with a total of 78 points.

Dinali de Soysa playing to a handicap of 13 won the overall Gross title with 42 points - an excellent performance on a course which required the best out from a golfer as the ball came fast off the rough.

Sandhya Kumari capped her brilliant performance by winning two more titles to complete a possible triple crown.

She next won the Nearest to the Pin and with a mighty swipe which carried the ball to a distance of 200 yards won the competition for the Longest Drive. Thus it was a highly successful day for Sandhya Kumari.

The defending champion Thushari Rajapakse failed to impress as on the first day she could manage only 27 points which kept her out of the race.

Nirosha de Silva - Manager Credit Card Centre of Sampath Bank was the Chief Guest and she distributed the awards. Marketing Manager of Victoria Golf and Country Resort Lalindra Ranaweera acted as the Master of ceremonies.

The results:

Nearest to the Pin: Winner Sandhya Kumari

Longest Drive: Winner: Sandhya Kumari - 200 yards.

Round One - Best Net: Pauline Morley.

Round Two - Best Net: Jyoti Haynes.

Gross Winner: Dinali de Soysa - 42 points.

Net Fifth place: Mayumi Kokshoorn - 72 points.

Net Fourth Place: Jane Hong - 74 points.

Net Third Place: Shyamali Rasika Ekanayake: 78 points.

Net Runner up: Suwen Selvaratnam - 80 points.

Overall Net Winner - 36 holes - Ladies Open Champion Sandhya Kumari - 83 points.

Rankothge to blow at Singapore Rugby Sevens

S.K. Jiffrey Abdeen - Kandy Sports corr

Former St. Sylvester’s and Kandy Sports Club ruggerite Aruna Rankothge now a top referee has been selected to blow at the Singapore Rugby Sevens held in connection with the sixtieth anniversary of the Singapore Cricket Club in Penanang next week.

This International Rugby Sevens which is about the oldest rugby tournament in the region will feature countries like New Zealand, Fiji, Kenya, South Africa, United States of America, Australia, Hong Kong, Singapore, Japan, Thailand, Scotland, and the Arabian Gulf. Aruna Rankothge a dedicated official climbed the ladder to success the hard way.

Having played school rugby for four years for St. Sylvester’s College, he had a brief stint of club rugby with Kandy Youths SC and Kandy SC before dedicating himself to rugby coaching.

He coached his alma mater for nearly a decade and under his guidance the Sylvesterians gained promotion to ‘A’ Division of the schools tournament, and they also had the distinction of defeating Trinity College at the lions den at Pallekelle.

Whilst coaching, he also took to refereeing and has blown at the Bradby Shield encounter, Rugby Junior Asiad in China 2004 and also at top local club games involving CH and FC, CR and FC, Kandy SC and also at the Singer SriLankan Rugby Sevens.

A qualified rugby referee is now handling the coaching of Trinity College junior team. At the Singapore Rugby Sevens he will be in big company with top rugby referees from Australia RFU, United Kingdom, New South Wales RFU, Queensland RFU, Kenya, Hong Kong, South Africa and New Zealand.

He is expected to leave the island by the end of this week and will return next richer by his experience.

Lanka Cavaliers win three matches in India

Lanka Cavaliers led by that experienced Veteran player, Daya Sirisena, returned to the Island with three wins and solitary loss in their ten day tour of Chennai and Cochin.

The success of Cavaliers was due to the performances from Wasanthalal Fernando (51, 44 retd & 22), Sudharshan Guruge (43, 27, 37), C.P.P. Raj (38, 30 n.o. 20) with the bat and in the bowling department, Srinath Wijeyeratne who had a spell of 6 for 17 in the third match which is the best bowling figure by any Cavalier since 1997, Pradeep Fernando (3/ 22) and Nevin Noyar (2/15) bowled well on tour to give Cavaliers three wins in a row.

The hosts in Cochin, the Kerala Veterans Cricket Association extended their hospitality to the visitors and President of Cavaliers and present Director Operations of Cricket of S.L.C. Bandula Warnapura promised all support to the Association to improve the ties and fellowship between the players of yesteryear from Kerala and Colombo and invited the Kerala side to visit Sri Lanka in December for a three match series.

The tour was made possible by the Cavalier coordinator in Chennai, V. Krishnaswamy, who had also arranged a ‘Coaching’ programme at the MAS Cricket academy in Anar-nagar for the boys aged between 12-18 which was well handled by the experienced cavalier players,

J.K. Mahindra, former All India Under-19 and Kerala Ranji Trophy player turned cricket administrator and promoter was the main person behind all arrangements in Cochin, Kerala.

H Tour Match No. 01 (Played at SPIC Y.M.C.A. Grounds, Chennai)

Tamil Nadu Veterans XI-165 All Out in 19.2 overs (P.R. Venkat 55, A.P. Sureshkumar 28, Pradeep Fernando 3 for 27)

Lanka Cavaliers XI - 168 for 05 in 19.4 overs (Wasanthalal Fdo 22, S. Guruge 43, C.P.P. Raj 38, Pradeep Fdo. 29, V. Rajshekhar 2 for 31)

Caveliers won by five wickets

H Tour Match No. 02 (Played at Shri Jawahalal Nehru Stadium, Cochin, Kerala )

Kerala Veterans XI 103 for 09 in 20 overs (J.K. Mahindra 37, K.P. Satish 17, S. Angulugaha 2 for 22, N. Noyal 2 for 07, B. Warnapura 1 for 16, D. Sirisena 1 for 04)

Lanka Cavaliers XI 105 for 04 in 13.5 overs (Wasanthalal Fdo. 44 Retd, C.P.P. Raj 30 not out, B. Venkatesh 1 for 29, S. Dandapani 1 for 34)

Cavaliers won by six wickets

H Tour Match No. 03 (Played at Palace Oval, Thripumthura, Cochin, Kerala)

Kerala Veterans XI 138 All Out in 25.4 overs (S. Nizamudeen 38, U. Kutty 25, S. Oasis 21, Srinath Wijeyeratne 6 for 17, N. Noyar 1 for 18, M. Pethiyagoda 1 for 17)

Lanka Cavallers XI 139 for 05 in 27.2 overs (Wasantha Fdo 51, S. Guruge 37, V. Rajgopal 3 for 22)

Cavaliers won by five wickets

H Tour Match No. 04 (Played at Palace Oval, Thripumthura, Cochin, Kerala)

Lanka Cavaliers-103 all out in 19.3 overs (S. Guruge 27, C.P.P. Raj 20, B. Perera 17 n.o., D. Sirisena 10, U. Kutty 3 for 12, S. Oasis 3 for 24, S. Kumar 2 for 24)

Kerala Veterans XI-104 for 04 in 14.1 overs (J.K. Mahindra 30, Sunil Oasis 25 n.o., O.K. Ramdas 15, N. Noyar 2 for 15, M. Pethiyagoda 1 for 19, W.I.Fdo 1 for 22)

Cavaliers lost by six wickets