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Friday, 19 November 2010

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Aurora: Daily News supplement on the occasion of the inauguration of President Mahinda Rajapaksa's Second Term of Office | www.dailynews.lk

Sri Lanka lions: Born to win


President Rajapaksa with Sri Lankan cricket team

Sri Lanka lived up to expectations as a great sporting nation in the Asian region while making vast strides in the international scene through some breathtaking performances both here and overseas.

From the magical spin of Muttiah Muralitharan to the flashing brilliance of Manjula Wanniarachchi and from the ever reliable Chinthana Vidanage to the rock solid performance of Prasanna Peiris the island nation had the lion flag fluttering at almost every international sporting event.

The drama continued when Kumar Sangakkara and his men brought down the powerful Australians 2-1 in the recently concluded one day series which also marked the first ever series triumph for the Lankans down under.

As a result Sri Lanka was able to climb into the second place in the International Cricket Council One Day Rankings which will put them in good stead ahead of the home series against the West Indies and the ICC World Cup.

Sri Lanka also took a giant step in the infrastructure facilities with the construction of the Mahinda Rajapaksa International Stadium situated in Sooriyawewa, Hambantota.

In fact this new stadium is one of the World Cup venues that will host a couple of games and will be baptized as Sri Lanka’s third flood lit stadium when the West Indies play two one day internationals next month.

This cricket stadium is situated in the area of Meegahajandura off Sooriyawewa, approximately eight kilo metres from the emerging commercial hub of Hambantota.

This stadium will also provide a great opportunity for 18 cricket playing schools in the Hambantota area where the cricketers have not had the privilege to play on turf wickets. The ground will no doubt be very helpful for the promising young cricketers in the area to reach international standards.

The present location of the stadium is situated on a 47-acre land and it is accessible from three major towns in the area covering the Uva, Sabaragamuwa and the Southern Province.

The stadium is expected to fulfil the International Cricket Council (ICC) requirement of holding at least 30,000 spectators. The stadium will hold three mega scoreboards which will be elevated above the spectator stands. The main idea of having all scoreboards above the stands is to accommodate the maximum number of spectators.

The grandstand alone will hold 8,000 spectators while a total of 20,000 permanent seats will be fixed while the standing pavilions will have the capacity to hold 15,000 spectators.

Sooriyawewa was one of the best locations Sri Lanka could provide in building up an international cricket venue. With the area being developed to be a commercial centre in the southern part of Sri Lanka, Sooriyawewa has much to offer the visiting cricket fans from around the world.

On the cricketing field legendary off spinner Muttiah Muralitharan signed off his test career in an emotional note as he captured his 800th wicket against India at the historic Galle International Stadium.

One of the first to congratulate the champion off spinner was President Mahinda Rajapaksa who arrived at the venue moments before the epic scene took place amid fire crackers and wild celebrations.

The entire Galle Stadium was turned into a carnival atmosphere as President Mahinda Rajapaksa acknowledged and commended the deeds of Muttiah Muralitharan by presenting him a souvenir.

In fact the untiring efforts of President Mahinda Rajapaksa and his passion for sports have lifted the entire nation towards a new dimension. The sports loving President has made immense contribution for the promotion and development of sports throughout the country.

President Rajapaksa has been a versatile athlete during his day and later played an important role as the head of the national bodies for track and field and elle.

As the President of the Athletic Association (AA) of Sri Lanka he played a key role in reviving the career of star sprinter Susanthika Jayasinghe who went on to win an Olympic medal for her country after 52 years.

The record breaking performance of Muttiah Muraltiaran certainly lifted the country to greater heights as the entire World watched the drama unfold when he dismissed India’s last man Pragyan Ohja on the final day of the test match.

Muttiah Muralitharan achieved another milestone when he completed a total of one hundred wickets against India in his farewell test match. He is the first bowler in test history to perform this unique feat.

He also equalled former Australian legend Shane Warne’s record of aggregating over 100 wickets against three different countries. Muralitharan has already captured 112 wickets against England and 104 wickets against South Africa respectively. Muralitharan has captured the most number of 10-wicket hauls in Test cricket (18 matches) and also has the most 5-wicket hauls in an innings at Test level. In addition Muralitharan is the first and only player to claim 50 or more wickets against every Test playing nation. He has taken 10 wickets in an innings against the most countries.

Muralitharan is one of the few bowlers in the world to reach 1,000 first class wickets and is the only player to take 10 wickets in a Test match in four consecutive matches twice. He also reached the 350, 400, 450, 500, 550, 600 and 650 wickets in the fewest number of matches played and has the most Test victims clean bowled.

He will go down in the annals of history as one of the greatest cricketers ever to have played the game.

Having represented the country in a total of 133 test matches during a span of eighteen years Muralitharan is undoubtedly one of the most adored characters in World cricket.

Muralitharan not only had the potential to spellbind the audience with his sensational deliveries but he was also a perfect ambassador for the game of cricket that he has been associated since 1992.

Muralitharan who is also the highest wicket taker in the shorter version of the game is the proud holder of two individual World records on the cricket field, a feat that will not be matched by anyone for quite some time.

Meanwhile pugilist Manjula Wanniarachchi also produced a sensational performance to snatch a gold medal in boxing at the Commonwealth Games in New Delhi, India. His effort was even more significant considering the fact that this was Sri Lanka’s first gold medal in boxing after a lapse of 72 years. Until then Sri Lanka has been starved of a gold medal from the 1938 Games in Sydney to October 13, 2010 Manju Wanniarachchi was able to enact that performance in a most remarkable manner.

Wanniarachchi of course did not let the South Asian Games setback to end his career as he carved his way back to the national side in his characteristic bantam weight category. He then went on to make history while fighting back with the spirit of a true champion, bloodying and battering all opponents in his path to make it to the highest point of Commonwealth Games Boxing.

Wanniarachchi was in a class of his own as he came out with all guns blazing as he sailed through the preliminary round, quarterfinal and semi final bouts while defeating some of the reputed boxers from Botswana, Kenya and Wales respectively.

This was a tremendous improvement considering the fact that he had been knocked out from the quarterfinals of the 2006 Melbourne Commonwealth Games.

Thereafter he took fresh guard and began his preparations in a more purposeful manner that helped him to overcome all obstacles and challenges successfully. What counts is not the number of times you get knocked down, but the number of times you get back up and keep fighting. Manju Wanniarchchi has lived up to the expectations as being one of the finest Sri Lankan boxers in the modern era.

Meanwhile champion weight lifter Chitnahana Geethal Vidanage also came out with a magnificent performance to win a silver medal at the Commonwealth Games in New Delhi, India. His recent performances both at home and overseas have been quite splendid and has lived upto the expectations as Sri Lanka’s number one in this sport. The manner in which he has progressed is quite unique having started his career as a humble schoolboy in Polonnaruwa.

He has turned out to be a model role to many sportsman and sportswomen in the country having overcome all obstacles and challenges which came across during the early days of his career.

In fact the beginning was really tough for him but as time passed he has learnt a lot and gained valuable experience while competing in some of the biggest events in the international sporting scene.

The success of Prasanna Peiris is of course a rare piece of achievement and probably the best ever effort from a bodybuilder in the recent past. His effort was even more significant considering the fact that he took up the challenge to compete at the World championships at the back drop some uncertainty.

The 40 year old former Sailor was forced to find employment in overseas in sheer disappointment and with the aim of providing a better future for his family. While working as a Physical Fitness Instructor in Qatar he found the environment and the set up quite friendly to re launch his bodybuilding career.

He got his act together well and worked on his basics on a daily routine that put him in the correct path for a World class performance. The final result and his ultimate goal was a silver medal in the 65 kg bantam weight category event out of competitors from over 90 countries.

His fine effort was later elevated into a gold medal after the winnerswas tested positive for a performance enhancing drug.

The Sri Lanka Under-19 team had an excellent run of success both here and abroad as they made vast strides in their attempt to become a major force in youth cricket. Their greatest achievement was the 3-2 youth one day series victory in Australia which also marked the first ever series triumph by any cricket team down under.

Under the guidance of Coach Naveed Nawaz and inspired by the services of former batting legend and Consultant Coach Aravinda de Silva the youngsters also clinched a Tri Nation limited overs series that featured Pakistan and Bangladesh at home followed by another successful tour of England.

More than the victories and the success the striking feature has been the manner in which they have handled the pressure and different match situations like their senior team members.

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