Sri Lanka lions: Born to win
Chris Dhambarage
President Rajapaksa with Sri Lankan cricket team
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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. |