Compiled by Ishani Upatharitha
[caption id="attachment_163325" align="alignleft" width="354"]
Eliyantha White (on right) with Lasith Malinga[/caption]
The high-profile shaman Eliyantha White, 48, who treated sports stars, celebrities of the region, and top politicians, including former President and present Prime Minister Mahinda Rajapaksa, passed away on Wednesday (22) at a private hospital in Colombo while being treated for Covid-19.
“White had claimed in November he could end the pandemic in Sri Lanka and neighbouring India by pouring pots of his ‘blessed’ water into rivers,” noted Al Jazeera in a report yesterday, including some undertones of sarcasm on White’s succumbing to the virus.
White attracted international attention in 2010 when legendary Indian cricketer Sachin Tendulkar publicly thanked him for treating a knee injury, saying it helped him hit the first-ever One-Day International double-century against South Africa.
One of the most notable cricketers who openly claimed that White had given them cures from chronic injuries, breathing fresh life into their careers, is Lasith Malinga.
[caption id="attachment_163326" align="alignleft" width="355"]
Eliyantha White (on right) treats Sachin Tendulkar[/caption]
“Thanks you (Eliyantha White)! I was able to reach greater heights in my career and for that, I am forever grateful to you. I will be thankful to you for every Yorker and every wicket that I took after my return from injury. May you attain the supreme bliss of Nibbana!,” Malinga had said on Twitter yesterday (23).
Malinga got treatment from White for a career-halting knee injury in 2010 and continued to play for Sri Lanka until last year (2020) whilst leading the country to the 2014 Twenty-20 World Cup victory.
In a 2010 interview with the AFP news agency, White claimed he had “special powers” since the age of 12.
He has since claimed to have treated other renowned cricketer including Gautam Gambhir and Ashish Nehra of India, Sri Lanka’s Upul Tharanga, Australia’s Ian Chappell, and Bollywood stars such as Salman Khan and Bipasha Basu.
* SL table tennis team for 25th Asian TT C’ship today (24)
[caption id="attachment_163327" align="alignleft" width="279"]
SL women’s TT Captain Ishara Madurangi[/caption]
Chameera Ginige and Ishara Madurangi, both from Ambalangoda, will lead the Sri Lanka men’s and women’s table tennis team for the 25th Asian Table Tennis Championship, to be held from 28 September to 5 October in Doha, Qatar. The team comprising five men and four women will leave for Qatar on today (24).
This tournament will be conducted as a qualification event for World Team Championship of 2022. In 2019, Sri Lanka men’s team was placed 23rd while the women’s team finished in the 15th spot.
Fifteen-year-old Senura Silva from Ananda College, Colombo is the current No. 1 while Ginige, from Sri Jayewardenepura University, being an experienced player, along with Milinda Lakshitha (OMBC Solutions), Nimesh Ranchagoda (Sri Lanka Navy), and Imantha Udanjaya (Sri Lanka Army).
Meanwhile, Ishara Madurangi of Sri Lanka Ports Authority is the most experienced player in the women’s team which also includes promising players Bimandi Bandara (Hillwood College, Kandy), Muthumali Priyadharshani (Sri Lanka Navy), and Thanushi Rodrigo (Sri Lanka Army).
[caption id="attachment_163328" align="alignleft" width="278"]
SL men’s TT Captain Chameera Ginige[/caption]
Former Dharmasoka College, Ambalangoda paddler Chathura Dushan Egodage will accompany the team as Coach while Ravindra Jeewantha has been named as the Trainer and Physiotherapist.
Sri Lanka will participate in women’s team, men’s team, men’s singles, women’s singles, women’s doubles, men’s doubles, and mixed doubles.
Sri Lankan Team:
Women’s: Ishara Madurangi (Captain), Bimandi Bandara, Muthumali Priyadarshani, and Thanushi Rodrigo
Men’s: Chameera Ginige (Captain), Senura Silva, Milinda Lakshitha, Nimesh Ranchagoda, and Imantha Udanjaya
Officials: Chathura D. Egodage (Coach) and Ravindra Jeewantha (Physiotherapist)