SPORTS

Buddhika holds great promise

Buddhika Kumuddaperuma Photo by Gamini Wickremasinghe

He is the celebrated basket ball player in the police team, but young  Buddhika Kumuddaperuma ventured into the arena of sports through Ananda College in 1983. Ever since, Kumuddaperuma has achieved excellence in basketball both as a player and a referee. He represented the Sri Lankan team in Singapore. Kumuddaperuma, who has played with the police team at the interclub championship  in 1995 in Singapore and Bangkok. Buddhika also went with the police team to Malaysia in 1999. He has also represented Sri Lanka in Singapore   in 1996. Buddhika who was vice captain at Ananda College from 1983 to 1990, was in the Sri Lanka school's team in 1990/1991 and the captain of the Colombo schools team in 1991.

He was school coloursman in 1989/1991 and Sri Lanka police coloursman in 1998.

"Basketball is a wonderful game. It calls for strength and intelligence," points out Buddhika who is an international basketball (FIBA 95113)  has also refereed at the Asian Club Championship for women in 1993 in Johor Baru Malaysia, at the FIBA examination in 1995 in Bangkok,  FIBA examination refresher clinic in 1998, in Bangkok,  17th ABC championship for senior women in 1997 in Thailand, ABC championship for junior women in 1998 in Japan, ABC championship for junior men in 200 in Malaysia, ABC championship for young women in China in 2002, ABC championship for junior men in Kuwait in 2002 and in national basketball tournment in the Maldives in 2000 and national basketball tournament in Maldives in 2001.

"There are two active referees in Sri Lanka; the other is Ajith Kumara," he points out. Having been a FIBA referee after obtaining the licence in Bangkok in 1995. Kumuddaperuma holds great promise in the game. Today, Buddhika is not only a player, but also a coach.

"It is how you play the game. The spirit is how you take the end result," says this player who treats praise and criticism with equal ease. "Sometimes there may be rulings of foul, this is all part of the game," explains Buddhika. "The game must be played according to one's conscience.

"It is inevitable that one is criticised time and a game. But the game must go on. Basketball must be developed in Sri Lanka we do not have the facilities, we do not have indoor courts.There are no sponsors for the national team. This is very sad," explains Kumuddaperuma. "Trul;y there seems to be no one even to provide the nourishment," adds Buddhika. "We must concentrating on developing the game," says this basketball player who is keen for the game to go on.

"The way we can develop the game is to concentrate on talent outside Colombo too," points out Kumuddaperuma.

Kumuddaperuma and the police team hope to win the oncoming tournaments. "My involvement in basketball is total. My future plans are to play as strong and for as long as possible for the police team," says Kumuddaperuma.  These are but a few of Buddhika's achievements. Being a player for the police team requires strength. "Basketball is a game where one's intelligence is involved," points out this young player. And Buddhika seems to have it all - physical strength, agility, a knowledge of the game that makes him a referee of the game too and the ability and strength of character to go on.

Young and strong players of the calibre of Buddhika Kumuddaperuma ought to be encouraged and hailed for they bring pride not only to the teams that they are playing for, but in the long run, they turn the international spotlight to our very motherland.

•  Fifth Singer-Sri Lankan Sevens kicks off this week 

Get IRB status, or else...

BY any count the Singer-SriLankan Sevens has to be the most expensive event Sri Lanka rugby has undertaken. Just how expensive, sponsors aren't obliged to reveal, but a figure in the region of Rs.15 million, in cash and kind, for the three-day event wouldn't be an exaggeration.

The cost to fly out 15 teams from far-off places, ranging from the sea-sprayed Cook Islands in the Pacific to Kenya in the wilds of central Africa, is by far the heftiest. Accommodating 192 national players in the mountain hideout of Le Kandyan Hotel and an equal number of schoolboys elsewhere and then satiating their legendary hunger and thirst, be sure, is no small tab. Petty cash would have to be for payments like the hire of 16 buses for each of the teams or the Bogambara Stadium fee.

"Transport and the stadium, including preparations of the grounds and stands, cost roughly half-million,'' says organizing committee chairman, Izwan Omar.

So, a figure of Rs.15 m. won't be far-off the mark, give a million either way. It's a huge amount to be forking out for just one tournament, more so at a time when domestic tournaments are a hard sell. After all, sponsors know investing in sport played before sparsely populated stands is hardly fertile ground for a sales pitch.

Instant hit

Obviously, then, Singer and the National carrier, with supplementary support from Connaissance de Ceylan, was looking through a much broader prism than the narrower "cost per contact'' view that sponsors are accustomed to doing. They didn't judge Kandy SC's blueprint for an expensive international Sevens tournament out of any conviction that it would be an instant hit. Rather, in the apparent belief that it would, with time, grow to be THE Sevens of this part of the world, like what the famous Hong Kong sevens is ... well, to the entire world. The organizers, no doubt, would've assured sponsors that their desired profile for the event was achievable.

SriLankan Airlines probably had no qualms. The project was smack in line with their business and approval was not going to be difficult. It was different for Singer. The company might have a reputation for being Sri Lanka sport's most generous Santa Claus, but to splash something like Rs.6 million annually (in return for what really only three days of direct exposure) is another matter. Altruism or connections don't decide expensive undertakings. They said 'yes' anyway. But the first hints of griping were heard at last week's press conference. Singer Chairman Hemaka Amarasuirya, no less, as good as told organizers, don't take sponsorship for granted.

Apparently, one reason why the 1851-established company became a title-sponsor was the promise that the event would become a part of IRB World Series. But five years on, the promised upgrading is no nearer than it was in 1999. Not surprisingly, the frustration born of the continuing disappointment was vented in public. ''If the event doesn't get IRB status we will have to rethink our future involvement with the event - after all, we have to justify our investment,'' said chairman Amarasuirya. The implied message is that Singer's patience is wearing thin.

Clearly, notice has been issued on the event. But there's little the organizers can do to satisfy the sponsor's demand. The truth is that securing IRB recognition is solely in the hands of the SLRFU. And therein lies the rub. It is no secret that for some years the union and Kandy SC, the organizers, haven't exactly been the best of friends. That, however, is another story. But it's fair to say that the union would not walk an extra mile to help a Kandyan cause.

Years of bickering

But with the election of Priyantha Ekanayake, a Kandy stalwart, as union vice president and Kandy SC's backing of Mohan Balasuriya as president, the Kandyans, it seemed, would've found the SLRFU more amenable to their views. This new scenario, one thought, would bring to end rugby's years of bickering.

It is well know that Kandy SC have been strong advocates of fielding foreign players in the domestic tournaments. There are compelling for and against arguments on that issue. But it was doubtful whether all clubs, Kandy SC excepted, would've supported the move - not so much because local players would be denied opportunities as the clubs' financial capacity, or lack of it, to hire foreigners.

No matter, the union went ahead and re-opened the doors to them. The popular interpretation was that Kandy SC had their way on this score, though that is hardly factual. If a majority didn't support the move, it is unlikely Kandy SC alone could've pushed the doors open for the foreigners. Be that as it may, one thing is certain: the competition of the domestic tournaments had been sharper than it was for years, but alas, the on-field improvement wasn't reflected in the stands. The upshot: most clubs are poorer. So, it would be not right to conclude that the presence of overseas players is the final solution.

But the SLRFU, apparently, has been quick to rush to that conclusion. It issued a media release some weeks back announcing that foreign players would be eligible to represent Sri Lanka, albeit in the guise of a SLRFU team, in the coming Singer-SriLankan Sevens. Any foreigner wishing to play in the event should inform the union, the release advised. The reaction from clubs was, to put it mildly, less than enthusiastic. The Havelocks bluntly said 'no' and mocked at the union's audacity to ask for players that it hasn't paid a cent to either fly out or upkeep. It wasn't surprising then to hear union president Mohan Balasuirya tell the press conference that the ''(union) executive committee had yet to take final decision'' on whether foreigners will be included or not. ''It was only a suggestion.'' Why ''only a suggestion'' was made an official media release wasn't explained. The logical deduction is that the opposition, including the selectors, was too strong to resist. Hence, a retreat in as dignified way as possible.

No SLRFU media release has been forthcoming as yet declaring its previous notice null and void, though a pool of 20-odd players, without foreigners, has gone into training. So, theoretically, the inclusion of foreigners can't be ruled out. It's all so very confusing - and all because of a bull-headed rush to have foreigners in the national team. There has been so much going against including foreigners that it's hard to imagine that the idea was even entertained in the first place, and at union level at that. Including foreigneZrs to give more muscle to local challenge is poor reason before the danger of a possible undervaluing of the Singer-SriLankan tournament. If a host country chooses not to be represented as a national team, then, the organizers would be defenceless to stop a country, sometime in the future, wanting to send a team of, say, Golden Oldies or schoolboys. With IRB status a sponsor's demand, the last thing you would want to do is give the IRB an impression that the event is....well, a good-time Charlie.

If anything, the event needs to improve the quality of teams that are being sent out. Though they come out as national teams, quite a few, especially the Asian countries, don't even remotely resemble the outfits they field for the sevens in, Malaysia, Singapore and Hong Kong. It is within SLRFU's sphere of influence to try and persuade these countries to field teams befitting national status - but fielding ourselves a team called SLRFU Tuskers is not going to help.

The counter argument: a stronger Sri Lankan challenge. For this particular event, yes, but not in IRB international competitions. The inclusion of non-nationals for international competitions can't be done  willy-nilly. There are IRB rules: 1/ the non-national would have completed an unbroken period of three years residency in the country before he represents it or 2/ one of his parents should be a national of his playing-country.

What this means is all but one of the present foreign players, if included, won't be eligible to play in any IRB international competition - not the best of contributions to Sri Lanka's preparations for the Dubai Sevens, in December, Hong Kong Sevens and what ever international engagement there is. The exception, of course, is Laga Tavita, and that he belongs to Kandy SC would likely raise conspiracy theories from rivals.

There is a silver lining, however, to these clouds of confusion and doubt. Achieving IRB status is going to take a lot of work. Singer is not willing to wait indefinitely for it. The job ahead is clear. And, unless there's a coordinated effort by the union and the organizers, the future of what can be the showcase for Sri Lanka rugby would be in jeopardy. The loss would be incalculable in many respects.

Next week: How far or near is IRB status

Conrad Francis: Glittering performance

Conrad Francis, the captain of the Sri Lanka swimming team has brought glory and honour to his nation by winning two gold medals for the 100m, butterfly and the 50m butterfly events at the third AASF - Asian age group swimming and diving championships in Macau, conclued recently.

Conrad clocked 00.56.35 in the 100 metres and 00.26.03 in the 50 meters. Conrad Francis thus becomes the first ever Lankan swimmer to clinch gold in an international swim meet outside the SAF games where many a Lankan swimmer performed well to pocket gold medals.

Emmanuel's title defence faces tough challenge

over 300 entries have staked claims for a dozen titles and Rs.200, 000 prize monies at the 88th National Tennis Championships, the oldest tennis event in Sri Lanka.

The action begins tomorrow and will continue till September 7 on the SLTA courts, Green Path.A relatively new sponsor to Sri Lanka sport, F&G Property Developers and Fingara Club under the flag of Ceylinco Group, will support the event. Maxwell de Silva, secretary of the SLTA, welcomed the new sponsor'sinvolvement.

"It is good news for sport when new sponsors get involved. I can say with certainty that F&G and Fingara have done wisely to link up with Sri Lanka's oldest tennis tournament. Also their involvement comes at a time when all the development work put in by the SLTA is beginning to bear fruit. Last year's National was historic in that a14-year-old schoolboy won the Men's Singles title, the youngest ever in the 88-year history of the Nationals,'' de Silva told a press conference lastweek."We hope this will be a long term association.''

Mervyn Jayasinghe, deputy chairman F&G Property Developers and Fingara Club, said that though the company has sponsored sport events before, thiswas their first undertaking of a major sport event. ''Our plan is to be involved in big events, especially in the sports that Fingara have the facilities for. We have a tennis court which is why we decided to sponsor the Nationals, and we hope to do the same for the other sports played in Fingara (in Delkanda),'' said Jayasinghe.

Fingara Club also has two squash courts, swimming pool, badminton courts, three-lane bowling alley, tabletennis and billiards, all of which can expect support of the new sponsors,according to Jayasinghe.

 The main point of interest at the Nationals will be the Men's Singleswhere defending champion Franklin Emmanuel of Royal College will face stern challenge. Renouk Wijemanne, on a tennis scholarship in the US, is in Colombo to try and reclaim the Singles title he lost to Emmanuel in lastyear's final.

Rajiv Rajapakse, the no.1 player in Sri Lanka's Davis Cup squad, will also be staking a strong claim, together with fellow-senior,Rohan de Silva, also a Davis Cup representative. 15-year Emmanuel, ofcourse, will head the teenage brigade, which also includes talented schoolboys, Oshada Wijemanne, Harsha Godamanne, an ITF under-19 title winner, and S Nishendran.Amrit Rupasinghe, just back from a playing and training tour of Europe, unfortunately, will be missing from the singles.

But he has entered for the doubles, according to Tournament Director, Bernard Perera. ''I've fallen back on my studies while touring Europe and there's a lot of catching upto do before my O levels this year. I haven't been putting in the hours of training required for the Nationals,'' said Rupasinghe, a St. Thomas, Kollupitiya, student.

Dinali de Silva, also US-based, has returned to defend her women's singles title. She beat 14-year-old Jancy Paramanathan in the final last year, but with the Holy Family Convent Bambalapitiya student opting out this year,17-year Mahesh Seneviratne of Bishops and 15-year Visakhian, Thiyumi Abeysinghe could pose the sternest test to the defending champion.

Abeysinghe was in cracking from at the recent Colombo Championship winning three singles titles, defeating Seneviratne twice, in under 18 and women's finals.The prize cheque for men's and women's singles champions will be Rs.25, 000 each while each of the singles' runners-up gets Rs.15, 000.

TMKS

A renewed call for a Sri Lankan Spin Foundation

by Mahinda Wijesinghe

In 1946, a resourceful and an adventurous young man from Madras (now Chennai), India, K.M.Mamman Mappillai, opened a small manufacturing unit to make toy balloons in a humble shed by the roadside in an area close to his home known as Tiruvottiyur. It seemed, at that time, just like many other wayside boutiques destined to be here today and gone tomorrow. But, Mappillai was made of sterner stuff and Destiny had marked him as her own.

However, little was Mappillai to know that 21 years later he would be actually exporting automobile tyres to the home of rubber tyres, the United States of America, four years after India's first Prime Minister, Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru, laid the foundation stone for his new enterprise, the Madras Rubber Foundation. Today, their annual turnover exceeds a staggering Indian Rs.2,400 crores, and in 1999 was declared the most ethical company by the prestigious Business World magazine. Surely, the stellar saga of how a toy balloon soared into the stratosphere of success.

How the MRF Pace Foundation began

The MRF did not circumscribe themselves only to their day-to-day business. They had their sights on the bigger picture and focused attention on cricket. How can, the MRF pondered, they serve the game of cricket that was and remains a burning passion bordering on religious fervour of an average Indian? The answer was not far to seek. Realizing that although there has been no shortage of spinners in a country that had spawned the likes of Nayudu (C.S.), Mankad, Gupte, Bedi, Prasanna, Chandrasekhar and Venkat on those spin-friendly tracks in the history of Indian cricket, except for a handful of pacemen such as Amar Singh, Mohammad Nisar, Dattu Phadkar, and later Kapil Dev, there was an imminent need to assist Indian cricket in its quest for genuine pacemen at Test levels. Thus in 1988 the MRF Pace Foundation was inaugurated with Australian paceman Dennis Lillee as Director to discover and aid potential fastmen, first locally and then extended internationally. The success of MRF Pace Foundation is now history and is a jewel in the crown of the MRF - and Indian cricket - and has 'star' Sachin Tendulkar as their flag-carrier.

Proposal to start a Spin Foundation in Sri Lanka

Hard on the heels of the birth of the MRF Pace Foundation in 1988, I suggested, in my newspaper column, that Sri Lanka should establish a Spin Foundation on the same lines. After all, an institution of this nature does not need sophisticated equipment, medical back-up, a high financial outlay and other attendant prerequisites that are conditions sine qua non to train fastmen. Further, the average Sri Lankan is better suited, taking into account the physical attributes, for the slower version of the bowling trade. However, no one took notice of the suggestion of a Spin Foundation and except for a few sporadic and desultory efforts over the years of a "Spinner's Clinic" to locate spinners, nothing of note took place. I can also assure you Muralitharan was not discovered as a result of those ventures! Muralitharan is what Jack Iverson was to Australia, Ramadhin to the West Indies, Chandrasekhar to India and Paul Adams is to South Africa. They are all one of a kind. Even cloning would not help find a 'copy' of their type!

25% of all Test wickets

It is indeed a crying shame that Sri Lanka has not been able to identify potential Test-class spinners during the two decades the country has been in the big league. Muralitharan is simply a phenomenon and not the result of the system, a comet that is flashing across the sky. If not for him where would we be? Just look at this. In the 133 Test Sri Lanka has played since obtaining Test status in 1981, 70 bowlers have captured a total of 1789 wickets against all opposition. Muralitharan has played in 82 Tests so far and has captured an astonishing 459 wickets, or a stunning 25.6% of all wickets fallen in the history of Sri Lanka Test cricket! As stunning is the fact that when Muralitharan plays in a Test match Sri Lanka has enjoyed a success rate of over 36% which plummets to an alarming mite over 7% when the off-spinner is not in the side. Sadly, with such stark figures staring at them our administrators simply soldiered on without looking for support and/or supplement. The nearest competitor for the title of the most successful Sri Lankan bowler is Chaminda Vaas with 216 victims in 68 games, and no other bowler has even reached the milestone of 100 wickets. If two bowlers have captured 675 wickets or 37.7% of all the Test wickets that has fallen in the history of Sri Lanka, it does not reflect the talent or the lack of our bowling resources - there is a surplus of it really - but the inability of our administrators to tap it at the source. At least now can the eyes that should be opened, oblige? It is better late than never.

Proposal to start Cricket Academy in 1994

In 1994 my written proposal - with copies to the Minister of Sports, President of the Cricket Board and a few entrepreneurs - to establish a Cricket Academy gathered dust for nearly two decades. Recently, steps have been taken to start one. Let us all hope that a spin-off from this establishment could be the emergence of a few quality spinners. If Big Brother India can churn out fast bowlers there is no reason why a concerted effort should not be made, with possible aid from Sri Lankan, Indian and Pakistani coaches, to discover Test-quality spinners in our own land. And please, all the coaches need not be former Test players.

Murali: The best bowler ever?

In the inaugural issue of Man's Mission - a quarterly publication of Media Services, the publisher of LMD - the case is made for Muttiah Muralitharan being the best bowler ever. Despite Wisden - the bible of cricket - nominating Shane Warne as one of its five cricketers of the century, statistically speaking, Murali's figures are superior in virtually every sense. In fact, Murali has done practically everything that Warne has (on the cricket field!) - but quicker, and at a younger age.

Internationally known cricket writer, Mahinda Wijesinghe, presents a watertight case. And support for this thesis comes from an unexpected quarter - Wisden! Following the naming of the five cricketers of the century - conducted by a poll of 100 representing all nine test playing nations (pre Bangladesh), wherein Murali received not a single vote - in a more "scientific" study, Wisden nominated Murali as perhaps the best bowler of all time!

Man's Mission also features articles on life in Colombo, new car launches, health & fitness, corporate d‚cor, fashion and style, and other sports besides cricket, amongst information on a variety of events - done and to be done.

The magazine's 6,000 print run is being distributed by Hameedia to its clientele, in addition to now being available in retail outlets. Media Services says it intends maintaining the quality standards of its flagship publication, Sri Lanka's pioneering magazine, LMD. And in keeping with the content and style of Man's Mission, the high quality of paper and print will be similar to that of comparable international magazines.

Beach volleyball tournament

The Confifi Group Hotels together with the event coordinator Sri Lanka Volleyball Federation supported by the Sri Lanka Tourist Board will be conducting and Amateur International Beach Volleyball Tournament on 13 and 14 of September along the beaches of Club Palm Garden and Riverina Hotels, Beruwela.

Being  the premier International Beach Volleyball event in Sri Lanka it will definitely mark a watershed in the events calendar of Sri Lanka.

The prizes will range for males and females separately. Winner Total Value US$ 2000-, 1st Runners - up Total Value US$ 1500/- and 2nd Runners up US$ 1000/-.

The encouraging and supportive sponsorship of Sri Lanka Airlines, Pepsi, Dialog GSM and Associated Newspapers of Ceylon Limited (ANCL) and Nowgem Jewellers makes it a reality to organize and conduct an international promotional event  of this nature.

Sunshine Games 2003

Sunshine Games 2003 organised by the Rotary Club of Colombo Metropolitan will be held at Race Course Grounds, Reid Avenue, Colombo 7 today. It is the largest annual sports meet in Sri Lanka for children with special needs. Children with various forms of disabilities such as those who are short of a limb or wheelchair bound, visually impaired, hearing and speech impaired and mentally challenged children take part in it.ÿ

The objectives of this event are to provide an opportunity for them to show their talents, courage and determination thereby enhancing their self-confidence and to give them an enjoyable day's outing.ÿ Breakfast, lunch, T-shirts and shorts and cost of transport are provided by the organisers. The main sponsors are Citibank and Columbia Sportswear Company.