The opening of the new boxing ring of Nalanda College, Colombo, was held on 29 March at the college premises.
Proud Nalandian Sumit Liyanage, who represented the Olympics in 1960, and Dian Gomes, President of Sri Lanka Boxing Association, participated in this event as chief guests. A number of inter-house boxing matches and exhibition matches were conducted in the school at the new boxing ring.
Old Nalandian Umayanga Mihiran, who was awarded as the 6th in the technical stream of the GCE A/L examination and the best player in the 95th National Boxing Tournament as well as the most scientific boxer in the recently concluded Stubbs Shield Boxing Tournament.
A large number of people including the principal of the school, teachers, students and their parents attended this event. This boxing ring was created by the alumni of Nalanda Colleges, Nalanda Sports Club and Nalanda College Boxing Club
Outstanding performance from Dhanushka
Dhanushka Sandaruwan of Sri Lanka managed to win the third place in the long jump event of the “Texas Relays” 2023 athletics championship held in Austin, America yesterday (2).
That is his best performance in this season, recording a performance of 7.92 metres. It entered the record books as the best long jump performance by a Sri Lankan this year. Here, Dhanushka recorded this skill in his last jump and it is noteworthy that the first few jumps landed beyond the pilum pole due to an error in his step measurement.
Posting this win, Dhanushka posted on her social media account, saying 'I flew to Austin 3 days ago paid my own plane tickets plus hotels. I just wanted to show everyone my country flag up there on the podium in a big competition in USA”
“I had no coach here. My runup approach was out (all the jumps behind the board). I kept trying till my last jump. Finally, I got on the board with my last jump and finished with my season best jump of 7.92 m. I’m so proud I was able to get my country flag up there”
He ended his post by stating: “The Sri Lanka record looks like it’s coming”
The high jump event of this tournament was won by the American high jump champion Juvaughn Harrison, and the invitational competitions were attended by strong American runners such as Emmanuel Matadi, Gabby Thomas and Sha- carri Richardson.
Plantation Sevens return after 3 years
The Inter Plantation sevens rugby tournament, which returns after three years, is scheduled to take place on 8 April at the Dik Oya Maskeliya Sports Complex.
12 organisations involved in the plantation industry are participating in this tournament and this time this competition is named as “Colombia Cup – 2023”. This will be the 20th Tournament organised by the Planters.
All matches will be conducted under the rules of the International Rugby Union (IRB) and accordingly the rules of the seven-a-side rugby will be followed. Thalawakele Plantation Company, who were the champions of the last tournament, will compete in Group A this time, while the other teams will be divided into groups through a draw.
The top teams in the four groups compete for the Cup Championship
12 teams playing in this year's tournament are Talawakele, Kelani Mitiyawata, Elpitiya, Hatton, Bagavantalawa, Mathurata, Malawatta Valley, Balangoda, Maskeliya, Kotagala, Lankem Agarapatana Joint, Kegalle, Arpico Namunukula and Sri Lanka State Plantation Company.
Speaking at the press conference held on Friday, Manjula Samarakoon, representing the Organising Committee said: “We are proud to stage this tournament every year, which is one of the flagship events in the planter's calendar. As the event was not held for the past three years due to the pandemic, we expect the tournament to be well patronized as it comes back to life at DMCC this year. We have lined up everything that matters for an elite rugby event.”
The leading fertiliser brand, Lak Govijana Fertilisers, which supplies high quality fertilisers to the plantation industry, has come forward as the main sponsor of the tournament.