Sports

No more jugglery in swimming selections

 By Lal Gunesekera

The Interim Committee for the Sri Lanka Aquatic Sports Union (SLASU) has outlined specific criteria for both swimmers and divers for the trials to be held at the Sugathadasa Indoor Stadium pool on April 23 and 24 in view of the First Asian Youth games to be held in Singapore from June 29 to July 7.

The Secretary to the IC, kiran Atapattu, told The Sunday Leader that he has sent out a letter to all members of SLASU, schools and competitors, said that the criteria was laid down to eradicate  all "misinformation" which may have occurred in past trials and to educate all participants the required eligibility criteria for the Asian Youth Games.

He also said that this trial is mandatory and whoever does not take part and displays his /her capabilities will not be considered for selection .He said: "We all like to see Sri Lankans coming and swimming in our own country and proving their competence in front of our own eyes. No more internet  results will be tolerated like in the past".

Atapattu went on say that in the case of "wild card" entries no favourite will be sent like in  the past, while deserving cases were  over looked. The "wild card" will be confined to swimmers in his/her event only.

"Interference by parents of competitors too will not be tolerated, including attempting to influence SLASU officials /selectors, and if any person resorts to this type of activity, the swimmer concerned will be disqualified" said Atapattu, who is an advisor to Sports Minister Lokuge, and also Secretary cum Treasurer of the IC for Rugby. He said that he (Atapattu) has got full blessings from Minister Lokuge and Minister Maithripala Sirisena, who heads the IC of SLASU.

Atapattu further said that all matters pertaining to the selection and eligibility criteria has to be sorted out before the trials and no protests /disputes will be entertained after a competitor takes part in the trial.

SLASU logo used illegally

Atapattu has detected the official SLASU logo displayed on a web site (www.icanswimcanyou.com) calling for donations from all over the world on Visa and Master cards and operated by two individuals (Michael D.C.Fonfe and Christina R.K.Fonfe)

Atapattu had written to the two persons concerned and asked to explain who gave them the authority to use the official SLASU logo, and the feeble reply was "it was simply put"!!

Atapattu told The Sunday Leader that he will take necessary action in this regard and get to the bottom of this episode.

Nearing final programme

Last week i spoke to you about back foot play and my observations of the batsmen in Jaffna. I am nearing the final programme in my talent search through the Aravinda de Silva Foundation sponsored by Coca Cola International. Stan Nell who is supporting me in taking this to a successful finish is excited with the results thus far. This week lets discuss running between wickets.

Running between wickets is one of the most important but least discussed aspects of the game. It is also hardly practiced at the centre and most youngsters learn the art only at match conditions. After many times being run out, a good batsman learns that its the worst form of getting out.Its one thing to be given out when striking the ball but yet another when running.

Lets begin by discussing running between wickets when you are the striker, in the first instance. Please be aware that the batsman striking the ball has to run further than the non striker. The non striker would have taken a start with the bowlers arm being rolled over. if you are the striker its important to look at the field placings carefully and make a mental note where the singles are available. Then take a look at the open spaces where there would be opportunity for two's or even a three. Make a mental note of where the quicker fielders are and of course where the better throwers are positioned. Dont take them on with any degree of risk.

Now lets observe those within close positions. Cover, extra cover, mid off, mid on, short and regular mid wicket, short square ,fine leg, close in etc. Look at the gaps between these positions. A push into the gaps would mean a run. Gauge at which end the fielders throw would likely to be. This would depend on the fielders direction of attack towards the ball, which hand he would throw with, his speed etc. Can you as the striker reach the other end before the ball is thrown to the wicket keeper or a fielder near the wickets? Can the non striker reach the wicket keepers end with certainity? Of course its a good practice for the non striker to respond with a "yes" if there is a possibility of a run. "Two", is also said by the batsmen when that is possible. Remember its the strikers right to call for a run when the ball is hit in front of the wickets and the non strikers, when its played behind. This is because such player has a better sight, of the ball. Take a note that when the striker has played a ball off the back foot he has to run an extra yard and has also to regain momentum forward.

Now lets discuss an important tip. Assume that you have played the ball to an empty space on the off and its possible to take two or maybe three runs. If you are a right handed player make sure you have the bat in your left hand when creasing at the non strikers end. Why? You save a second or two this way which would be crucial.You will automatically be facing the ball without having to look over and across your shoulder and have a clear view of the fielder attacking the ball. The reverse is also true when played into the legside.Crease the bat by reaching out.Run the first and the second runs quickly.Keep eyes on ball. Be conscious of possible over throws for more runs.

Now the gear. make sure the pads are secured properly. Tighter around the ankles and progressively less so as you go up aound the knees.Practice with your team mates at the centre wicket after setting a proper field.Soon you will find that half a run before now turns into easy singles. Watch the score board tick. Remember Sanath Jayasuriya is one of the fastest between wickets. Now I am going to surprise you with this one. Arjuna Ranatunge was very quick too in his early days but also hardly ever got run out even towards the latter part of his career though he annoyed the opposition by ambling the single. if there was an opportunity to get more than a single he never missed it.

Enjoy turning those half runs to singles and then scamper the two's. More next week.

It's a time for shaming rugby again

AS the controversy over the national rugby captaincy turned to a malicious war of words between the Selectors and the Interim Committee last week, the dubious method by which Pavithra Fernando was given the appointment apparently has been relegated to lesser significance.

 In case you didn't know, Fernando is the son of the head of the powerful National Olympic Council, Hemasiri. It has to be said that the NOC is the country's supreme sports body and so must necessarily work in close unison with the Sport Minister - which means a fostering of a personal friendship between Hemasiri and Gamini Lokuge would not be uncommon.  

So, not surprisingly, Pavithra's appointment as the country's rugby captain was always going to precipitate a crisis. And precipitate it did, triggering charges of nepotism and political influence. These aren't accusations easily shrugged off; answer as they must to questions of violations of the principles of fair-play, nay the laws of morality - and thus ought not to be dwarfed by a  mundane debate on whether the selectors' nominee, Dilanka Wijesekera, or, as selectors claim, the Interim Committee-favoured Fernando, is a better leader.

Spurs a debate

The manner of Fernando's appointment is far more salient to our rugby than who of the two individuals is more suited to captain, which, as ever, is a matter you could argue deep into the night and still be no nearer to resolving. Every appointment of a new captain spurs a debate of the same sort. Fernando's appointment, though, is not the stereotypical controversy: what it says is that a father's opinion of his son's talents (never detrimental) supersedes that of the national selectors or who ever. And an extension of that illogicality would be to render specialists selectors superfluous and instead have fathers/mothers do the job.

The absurdity of it all is described succinctly by a rugby player of another era: "If a player's wish is to be national captain all he has to do is go tell it to his father or mother - and magically the wish comes true. Nowadays players live in a fairyland, really. Rugby can't get anymore unreal than this''.

It might sound a whimsical conclusion of an old timer, but it can't be dismissed as silly fiction, either. The fairyland metaphor is not exactly delusional; it has foundation. After all, it is not the first time parental influence decided the national rugby captain. Last year, the son of SLRFU president, DIG Nimal Lewke, was appointed captain, an appointment invalidated by the Sport Minister, bowing to a torrent of allegations of favouritism; Wijesekera was appointed instead. The Lewke camp battled back through its channels of influence.

Unacceptale tradition

The upshot: the two shared the captaincy, with each leading once in the two-match Asian Nations campaign of last year in Chinese-Taipei. The same unsavoury episode is re-run this year - and so, what we are witnessing is the making of a morally-unacceptable practice into a tradition.

The resolution to last year's captaincy controversy was clearly political, a case of pleasing the rival candidates, more precisely their different sources of political influence. Both sides might've walked away appeased, but, on the playing field, it did the country little good. It probably cost Sri Lanka promotion to the Asian Nations' premier division this year - and the chance to pit their talents against Asia's top-tier countries, the likes of Japan, South Korea and Hong Kong. The country that eventually won promotion last year was Singapore, a team we all but beat. With a minute remaining to full-time, we were 20-13 ahead, but Singapore scored a last-second goal to force a 20-all draw.

Had one captain been appointed last year, it is a reasonable assumption that we might've secured promotion. But with the players subject to the dictates of two captains, the spirit of oneness in the team was questionable. Whether two leaders influenced our performance, of course, is matter for conjecture, but it is a fact of the battlefield that one leader is better positioned to inspire his men than two. But I digress.

If nothing else the controversies of last year's selections ought to have instilled a determination to prevent the farce this time around. The two-man Interim Committee, it must be said, set about its preparations for the Hong Kong Sevens and the Asian Nations tournaments as best it could, given the fact they were thrust into administration only some three months ago. Sensibly they tried and succeeded in persuading Kiwi George Simpkin, holidaying here, to resume his one-time role as national coach. The players were in training for some two months and by all reports, significant progress had been made. Clearly, things were moving smoothly.

So, how did rugby come to fall right back into the hole it stumbled into last year? Both times, with eyes open, I might add.

To compare the two controversies is irresistible. If one were to choose the worse of the two, then, I'd be inclined to place second the one under DIG Lewke's stewardship. With no intention to condone interference of any sort, the appointment of the SLRFU president's son as captain is, to me, lesser evil than the appointment of the offspring of an outsider, albeit the Olympic chief. One is a family dispute; the other is, well, letting the genie out of the bottle.

What it says is that any Perera, Silva or another Fernando can make captaincy claims for his son - and, providing he has the support of politicians - the claim will be conceded. Which raises an interesting question: if Pavithra Fernando had been the selectors' nominee, and had Dilanka's dad made the same claim papa Fernando did, what might have been the ministerial response? That dada Wijesekera runs a humble chicken farm in Wadduwa provides a clue to the answer.

This is not to infer Pavithra Fernando isn't a worthy candidate for captaincy. He has the credentials: He is equipped with leadership experience, leading Royal and the CR. He's been a national player many times over. On the field, his commitment is visibly total. And that a virtual second fifteen under him was able to demand Chinese-Taipei their utmost before conceding defeat, Wednesday, in Dubai, speaks of his inspiring leadership qualities.

But the tussle for national leadership in any sport rarely is a one-horse race - and the race for rugby captaincy wasn't. Dilanka Wijesekera, it must be said, was always the more likely choice, given that he captained Sri Lanka only five months ago in the 2008 Asian Nations event, albeit for one match. He too has captaincy experience, leading St Peters and the CH. He has been on national duty for at least more than three successive years. Fernando, on the other hand, last put on the national jersey in 2006, after which a serious back injury kept him out of the game for much of 2007.

Against that background, the selectors' choice of Wijesekera seemed logical - and the approval of the Sport Minister was thought to be mere formality. Not by a long shot. Between the time selectors made up their minds on Wijesekera and the awaiting of ministerial ratification, Hemasiri Fernando presented a claim on behalf of his son to Sport Minister Lokuge - and then on the story becomes stuff of cloak-and-dagger.

Draw your conclusions

Normally, disputes of this sort are resolved by the minister himself after consultations with his appointed advisors. But Fernando's protest claim was on-passed for review to the National Selection Committee for Sport, headed by one-time IGP Indra de Silva and includes - surprise! surprise! - Hemasiri Fernando, the author of the protest himself, as well as Dr. Gunasekera. Draw your own conclusions.

It is pertinent to explain the responsibilities of the DIG de Silva-led committee. Its name, National Selection Committee for Sport is a misnomer. It doesn't choose national teams, a job done by each sport's national selectors. What the NSCS does is, oversee the selection of teams for multi-sport competitions, chiefly the Olympic, Asian and Commonwealth Games - so that the numbers making up the country's contingent conforms to the budgetary allocation. If it doesn't, then DIG de Silva's selection committee prunes down the numbers. So, to ask this committee to decide on the national rugby captain, a job meant for specialists, is, well, pretty much asking a blacksmith to do the job of an engineer.

As if diminishing sponsorship in these chastened times and doubts about the IC's legitimacy in the eyes of the IRB aren't enough worries to cope with, the last thing rugby needs is for IC chief, Dr Maiya Gunasekera, and the chairman of selectors, Rohan Abeykoon to be at each other's throats, much to the shame of the game. Their verbal exchanges are an endless stream of accusations and denials. Samples:

Abeykoon: Dr. Gunasekera attempted to influence my co-selectors into appointing Fernando captain.

Dr. Gunasekera: No. I only made known Fernando's seniority to coach Simpkin.

Dr Gunasekera: The chairman of selectors had no business to inform the press of Wijesekera's appointment while ministry ratification was pending.

Abeykoon: I didn't leak it to the press - I suspect ministry sources might have given it to the media.

And so it went on - one accusing the other of lying.

It's all gotten juvenile - so juvenile that it cries for the help of the six mature and eminent personalities who were named rugby's first Life Members in 2006. Their very names are their credentials: Hemaka Amarasuriya, Summa Navaratnam, Y C Chang, Malik Samarawickrema, Gamini Fernando and Lionel Almeida. Their selections might represent a conferment of title for their long and valuable contributions to the game, but mere ornaments (as most life members are wont to be treated) they weren't.

The Priyantha Ekanayake committee tapped into their rich knowledge of and experience in business and sport management so that rugby can be better served. They were invited to sit in crucial meetings to which they might make useful contributions.  For some reason the succeeding administration chose to treat the life members more as ornaments. Had they continued to use the life members as advisors, as the Ekanayake regime did, then, Sri Lanka rugby might have saved itself much of the embarrassment it was subjected to over the past few years.

Some from a later generation who thought they were smart enough to administer on their own, in the end, only went to cause the havoc that a jackass released to freedom does. It's time administrators stopped making an ass of rugby - and sought the wisdom of the six wise heads.

Is Guruge's election legal or not?

Questions have arisen over the eligibility of Oliver Guruge holding office as President of the Sri Lanka Squash Federation (SLSF). He was elected uncontested at the annual general meeting on March 27, at the auditorium  of the Department of Sports Development of the ministry of Sports and Public Recreation.

The constitution of the SLSF in Rule No.9 ' E' (clause 3) regarding the executive committee states: "That a person shall be disqualified from being elected to hold office as a committee member of the Federation if  he /she has been convicted in a court of law for any  offence which in the opinion of the minister, involves moral turpitude.

Oliver Guruge was found guilty of an offence on inquiry conducted by the Sri Lanka Air Force (SLAF) when he was serving the Sri Lankan High Commission in Pakistan as the Military Liason officer. Guruge was a Squadron Leader during this period , was recalled to Colombo and after inquiry, his commission was withdrawan . This was gazetted on December 31, 1989 by the then Secretaty of the defence Ministry, the late General Sepala Attygalle.

Several former Squash Federation officials and senior players were disgusted over Guruge's election and were unanimous in there opinion that the inquiry of  the SLAF was equivalent to a court of law and that Guruge's election is illegal.

They were of the opinion that minister Gamini Lokuge must intervene and rule whether it is  legal or not.

Mrs. Samarasinghe , a qualified account by profession, also raised  numerous queries regarding  the accounts which were not circulated, but only a draft given at the annual general meeting.  Oliver Gurgue says that he has not violated the Sports Law which specifies that a person has to be found of unsound mind in a court of law and also not a professional reporter, non national or bookie.

Bren Soza heads badminton probe

By Lal Gunesekera

A three - member committee has been appointed by the Interim Committee of the Sri Lanka Badminton Association (SLBA) on the instructions of the Director General of Sports, Department of Sports Development, B.D. Dahanayake, to inquire into various allegations of corruption and irregularities  in the SLBA administration from April 1,2007 to March 24, 2008.

Air Vice Marshal (rtd) Bren Soza has been appointed the Chairman of this committee of inquiry, which also includes Major-General (rtd) Dr. C. Thurairaja, and DIG (rtd) D.Pathikirikorale.

The items to be investigated are (1) Alleged manipulation of declared registered player figures of Sri Lanka for purpose of obtaining an enhanced voting strength at the Badminton World Federation (BWF), (2) Employment of a foreign coach illegally without a work permit contravening immigration and other laws of Sri Lanka, (3) The preparation and submission of the financial statement 2007 to the Auditor General in a manner which was against the requirements of the constitution of the SLBA making the document fraudulent, (4) Obtaining large quantities of shuttle cocks from Jonex-Sunrise, Singapore from May 12, 2007 to February 5, 2008 to the total value of  $ 19,497/= without making payment and without declaring transactions in the assets and liabilities of the financial statement 2007, (5) Entering the Sri Lanka Junior team once and entering three particular senior players repeatedly in international championships and withdrawing after the draw leading to Sri Lanka being blacklisted and the three players fined and barred worldwide from international and local championships by the Badminton World Federation (BWF).

The three member committee has been requested to examine these allegations and make a report to the Interim Committee of the SLBA regarding its conclusion on each allegation, recommendations on the action which should be taken against any person or persons who may be found responsible for any corrupt or irregular practices and recommend preventive measures for the future.

The Director General of Sports, Department of Sports Development, B.D. Dahanayake, also states in his letter dated  January 1, 2009 that where necessary the CID should be consulted.

Singer 7's on or off ?

By Lal Gunesekera

The Singer SriLankan Airlines International Rugby 7's of the Kandy Sports Club will not be conducted this year

The Sunday Leader learns that Singer may pull out due to financial constraints.

According to an official of Kandy SC, they have had no communication from Singer about their inability to sponsor the 7's.

the Caltex A Division League Championship will start in may and the fixtures will be drawn up after the festive season.

The Sunday Leader understands that two members of the Advisory Board of the SLRFU IC (Priyantha Ekanayake and Michael Jayasekera) are to resign from their posts due to political interference.

The captain's armband becomes the captain's noose

By Richard McCarter

At the time of writing the Sri Lankan team, or at least the XV representing Sri Lanka, have lost to Chinese Taipei 35-24 in their first match of the Asian 5 Nations ranking tournament in Dubai. They led at half time by 19-18 and obviously lack of match fitness has taken its toll. By the time of publication SL's fate would be known.

Upon the pullout of the players, the IC wrote to the Clubs requesting the release of players to form a national team to be selected by the Selection Panel headed by former Sri Lanka great Ajith Abeyratne. He selected the best of the available resources with the Navy players unfortunately not figuring in a cause of national importance. Naturally, the side was packed with CR players with the notable exception of Sumedha Jayasinghe of Kandy who chose to defy his team mates and continue to play under Pavithra Fernando. The SL team is hardly one deserving of that tag, with many players fortuitous and nothing more to be wearing the national jersey.

Nevertheless, the IC's stance not to bow down to brinkmanship on the part of the players must be applauded. It is one of the few things they have done right in their reign so far.

Selectors to blame

The team had been practicing feverishly morning and evening under George Simpkin and had been training in Kandy prior to their departure. However, when the National Sports Council (NSC) appointed Pavithra Fernando as captain, almost the entire team staged a walkout in support of the front running candidate Dilanka Wijesekera. Weeks of practice down the chute.

It is not my brief at this point to argue for and against the captaincy for either player. That will be done in a different forum by people far more qualified than myself. Suffice it, however, for me to put things in perspective.

The captain was appointed officially two days before the departure of the Sri Lankan team that was training for a month. Any idiot - and I use this word deliberately - knows that a captain's influence in rugby is far less than a captains' is in cricket. Most often the game is run by a half back and line outs and scrum moves are called by the players in the best position to do so. The captain's influence, apart from being a motivational one, is negligible during the 80 minutes of the game. Most of the captain's responsibilities are in the dressing room and during practice. What then is the earthly use of not appointing a captain to take care of all this in the lead up to the tournament? It will be interesting to find out who was 'leading' the team during practices. With former national captains in either sevens or fifteens, namely Jayasinghe, Liyanage, Hettiarachchi, Marija et al together with the two protagonists Fernando and Wijesekera, it boggles the mind as to who did the talking at practice. Was the tension not evident for the members of the IC, and the selection committee?

The selectors have gone on record saying that the most important thing was that a captain should be assured of his place. If their choice of captain was assured of his place in the team, why wait until the eleventh hour to appoint him?  In an ideal world the no.8 berth that Wijsekera occupied would have been manned either by Dushanth Lewke or the unfortunate Imran Bisthamin. Wijesekera does not even play his club rugby in that position. How then, were the selectors so sure that he would be an automatic choice? Surely, the 22 for the Taipei game was announced by Friday and by then everybody was equally sure of their places? The captain was appointed on Saturday. The selectors' reasoning seems more than slightly flawed.

Whimsical mutinies

The reason that the players from CH and Kandy have boycotted are still unclear. Their opposition to Fernando's captaincy is obvious. However, they have not revealed on what specific reason they opposed it.

Clearly seniority cannot be a grouse. When Dushanth Lewke was appointed as captain by a respected panel of selectors Sanjeeva Jayasinghe kicked up an almighty row saying he was the senior player, and it was unbecoming to play under a junior player, especially with so many seniors in the line up at that time. These are Sanjeeva's words, they are on record.

However, neither Liyanage, Jayasinghe himself or had any grouse when the junior albeit fantastic Fazil Marija was appointed captain of the HK Sevens team. He was junior.  they still toured. Where was their righteous indignation then?

Ironically, in terms of years of service, Pavithra Fernando is indeed the senior player having played for Sri Lanka some years before Wijsekera made his mark. He had some years out due to a back injury that nearly crippled him on Lankan duty. Where is Jayasinghe and Co.'s clarion call for seniority?

Maiya Gunasekera the Chairman of the IC had said something about 'unseen hands at work' according to newspaper reports. He's never been closer to the truth. Those talking of nepotism may well be right - but they live in glass houses with very thin panes.

Agoal academy moves up in rank

THE Dilroy Fernando-run AGoal Rugby Academy for juniors is poised to step up to the senior ranks.

The academy since its inception in 2004 has catered to kids of only under-16, down to under-10. The plan now is to start separate streams for under-18 and under-20 - a venture that has delighted the CR&FC, whose premises is where the academy operates.

 "We have decided to include the academy as a part of club's activities, which means allotting it funds. The intention is to do it this year - if that isn't possible, then, certainly in 2010,'' said Jehan Canagaratna, who took over the presidential reins of the CR this year after the four-year stewardship of Ravi Balasuriya.

Presently the academy is funded by what it receives as students' fees: Rs.250 per month. The academy has about 100 on its roll, and with six coaches to pay and other expenses, investment on expansion isn't easy.

"CR has allowed the use of their grounds for free, and that's a big help. But the decision to bring the academy under the club's umbrella obviously is good news and opens up opportunities to make AGoal a fully-fledged academy,'' said Fernando. "Eventually we would like it be no second to the academies found in the developed rugby countries which has even sport management classes for its students. We hope to do the same.''

The opening of the academy to seniors is one small step in that direction. "Enlisting seniors will obviously benefit the clubs, particularly the CR. There are quite a number of school leavers who want to take up to the game either because their schools don't have rugby or they couldn't combine rugby with studies while at school,'' said Fernando. "There are also cases of some being unable to afford the sport. We'll offer them scholarships, which is what we've done to some 15 junior players."

The academy has chalked up some notable achievements in its first five years - none more impressive than participation in the DHL Bangkok Junior International Rugby Tens tournament last February in Thailand. The event was a massive assembly of 1,200 players representing countless teams from the world over. AGoal's four teams - U-10, U-12 A and B and U-14 - didn't just make up the numbers.

The teams returned with four trophies: Under 12 'A' Cup runner-up; Under 10 and Under 14 Plate runners-ups; and Under 14 Bowl runner-up.

As well, one of its products, Chula Susantha, went on to represent Sri Lanka in the 2008 Asian Nations tournament in Chinese-Taipei.

Haris Omar responds

I write with reference to the articles that appeared in The Sunday Leader Newspaper editions of March 29, under the heading "What is all this fuss about an IC?" and February 09,  under the heading "Asian Dragons under Fire" respectively authored by Mr. Lal Gunasekara.

At the outset I wish to clarify that the project concerned, which I Would refer to herein below is not the Asian Dragons Tour of Sri Lanka but the Island wide development initiative undertaken by the Development Committee coinciding with the Asian Dragons Tour of Sri Lanka.

This Project involved around 1,500 children from seven (7) Provinces and over sixty (60) Schools to assemble in Colombo on the eve of the Asian Dragons match on the  October 18, 2008.

The Council of the Sri Lanka Rugby Football Union (SLRFU) approved the project at an emergency council meeting on the  October 14, 2008. My team had only 3 days to organize a Project of the magnitude and was considered an impossible task. However it did become a reality. I must state the project did face short comings which were clearly communicated to the Council.

In my capacity as the Chairman Development and with the proper notification on the Council of SLRFU, I deployed a special team to each an every district and to a majority of the School to ensure the commitments pledged would be duly honoured.

The total expenditure presented by way of a Budget to the SLRFU Council for approval amounted to Rs. 1,887,000.00.

(a) However the total cost incurred in completing the project amounted to Rs. 1,317,530.00;

(b) Sponsorship received to date as stated in the article is correct. i.e. Rs. 175,000.00;

(c) The expenditure pending settlement from the SLRFU as incurred by the Project amount to Rs. 185,780.00;

(d) A balance of Rs. 956,750.00 is the net expenditure incurred by the SLRFU Development Funds.

It was my personal belief that this initiative and a project of this magnitude was a pioneering effort in this country as far rugby development is concerned. I clearly expressed to the Council the need to drive forward this project and took personal responsibility to raise funds on a two fold initiative.

(i) First being specifically for the Project concerned where I communicated to the Council of the SLRFU that a sum of Rs. 710,000.00 worth of sponsorships were in line for collection.

(ii) The second being through future development initiatives that will generate funds and also expand the Sport (Ruby Football) on Sri Lanka.

I am obliged to honor this commitment and I have not at any forum rejected this responsibility. I am duty bound as a member of the SLRFU Council of 2008 and also in my capacity as the former Chairman of National Development of Rugby in Sri Lanka to act diligently and responsibly.

Although today I am neither a Council Member nor the Chairman of Development of Rugby on Sri Lanka. Irrespective of these positions, I stand by my word to be responsible to ensure the funding generated shall be channeled for development project of SLRFU to keep up with intended objectives.

The 18th of April 2009 completes the 6 month period I requested to have the funds collected. However I am not in a position to generate this commitment forthwith on the said date but ensure to work collectively with the SLRFU Interim Committee or a newly appointed Council for 2009 to meet this objective.

Man City must be braver - Ireland

Manchester City mid fielder Stephen Ireland said some of his team-mates were not "brave" enough in Thursday's UEFA Cup first-leg defeat in Hamburg.

The Premier League side lost 3-1 after Ireland had put them ahead early on.

"We've got more quality, but at home we need to show it and be braver," he told BBC Radio 5 Live.

"I think at times tonight some people were hiding and when we had our backs against the wall some people were not brave enough to come out and fight."

City were beaten despite having taken a first-minute lead and face an uphill task in the second leg on 16 April.

But boss Mark Hughes says his side are still capable of reaching the UEFA Cup semi-finals.

"It will be difficult to claw back but we are not out of it," Hughes insisted.

"We have shown time and again we can score goals at Eastlands. We have players capable of causing Hamburg problems, as we showed."

Ireland gave City a dream start by scoring after 35 seconds but the joint leaders of the Bundesliga dominated after that and took control with goals from Joris Mathijsen, Piotr Trochowski and Jose Pablo Guerrero.

"We are still in this tie and we are not going to concede it now," added Hughes. "We have got to be positive.

"We are fully committed to the second leg and will give it a real go."

City had keeper Shay Given to thank for not conceding more goals after he made a string of crucial saves.

"He is an outstanding goalkeeper, who is there to make crucial saves," said Hughes.

"When you are up against a quality side like Hamburg, who are at home, they will have chances.

"We have to defend them and Shay to save them but that situation happens in every game."

Hughes brought Benjani Mwaruwari on as a late substitute but suffered a recurrence of a ruptured thigh muscle.

Striker Craig Bellamy also picked up a knee injury, while Shaun Wright-Phillips has a ankle problem.

"That made it difficult for us and we did not have that extra energy needed in a game like this," said Hughes.

Hamburg coach Martin Jol rued the fact his side had not capitalised more on their superiority.

"I would have preferred it if we had got another goal, " said the former Tottenham boss.

"We know it will be difficult if they score first next week but overall I am very happy."

TVS supports rider development

Riders development programme which was held on March 24 at Pannala was yet another successful program with the support of TVS.

TVS is the only motorcycle manufacturer who has supported the only event on this kind in the country as they are very keen in the safety and development of motorcyclist in the country. It was surprising to see the enthusiasm of TVS to support this event even though it was open to all manufacturers.   

This is the second time TVS had sponsored this event as one of their CSR campaign to develop better riders on road and in Track. This was jointly done with support of Sri Lanka Racing Riders Association and Sri Lanka Motorcycle Riders Association to create more disciplined Motorcycle riders for the road and also to enhance the enthusiasm of youth for the sport of motor cycle.

Majority of Sri Lankan house hold personnel's transportation mechanism has become the Indian motorcycle. This is the reason why many riders own Indian manufactured motorcycles and that is why Indian segment have been given prominent place in this training session. 

In this training session several events were held and the Star performer in the Indian segment was Ned Daniels who road a TVS Apache RTR 160, the Indian bike which is always a better handling passion machine even for racing.