New meet records galore on second day

A total of 11 new meet records were established on the second day of the 35th All-Island School Games Athletics Meet which continued at the Sugathadasa Stadium in Colombo on Thursday.

India overcome shaky start to beat SL in Final

India Emerging Women recovered from a difficult start to beat hosts Sri Lanka by 14 runs on the DLS method in the Final of the inaugural ACC Women’s Emerging Teams Asia Cup at the R. Premadasa Stadium in Colombo, on Tuesday.

’Dream’ farewell as Frenchman Garces to referee Rugby World Cup final

French referee Jerome Garces will take charge of Saturday’s Rugby World Cup final between England and South Africa, the first time a Frenchman has officiated the sport’s top match.

Thivanka and Lakshika Best Athletes at Sports Festival

Western Province (WP) athletes, Thivanka Perera and Lakshika Sugandhi stole the limelight on the final day of the 45th National Sports Festival which concluded at the Vincent Dias Stadium in Badulla yesterday (27).

South Africa’s Pollard breaks Welsh hearts in World Cup semi

South Africa will play England in the Rugby World Cup final after Handre Pollard scored 14 points to steer Rassie Erasmus’ team to a hard-fought 19-16 victory over Wales in Yokohama today (27).

Northern Province’s Anitha wins first Gold Medal

Sri Lanka pole vault women’s record holder Anitha Jegatheeswaran of Northern Province became the first gold medallist in athletics at the 45th National Sports Festival being held at the Vincent Dias Stadium in Badulla.

Jones looks to Ferguson as England aim to ’knock off’ All Blacks

England coach Eddie Jones heads into a World Cup semi-final against New Zealand taking inspiration from legendary football manager Alex Ferguson.

Springboks finisher Mapimpi taking his chance to shine

South Africa’s Makazole Mapimpi has been somewhat overshadowed by Cheslin Kolbe at the World Cup so far but with his fellow winger ruled out of the semi-final against Wales, the prolific finisher will have his chance to hog the limelight on Sunday.

Australia look to make statement a year ahead of T20 World Cup

With the T20 World Cup the only piece of major silverware missing in Australia’s bursting trophy cabinet, Aaron Finch’s team will look to make a statement in the series against Sri Lanka and Pakistan a year before hosting the global tournament.

England expect the unexpected from New Zealand

Eddie Jones said his England team were braced to deal with the unexpected when they play New Zealand in the World Cup semi-finals on Saturday but his players’ experience means they won’t be caught out.

Women’s Emerging Teams Asia Cup to kick off today

Sri Lanka will play host to the women’s emerging cricket teams of India, Pakistan and Bangladesh this week, as they take part in the inaugural edition of the Women’s Emerging Teams Asia Cup.

Samurai time as England, Australia set for ’do or die’ clash

Rival coaches Eddie Jones and Michael Cheika have both sprung selection surprises heading into a “do or die” World Cup quarter-final between England and Australia but there are sound reasons behind their dramatic decisions.

All Blacks say tiny margins could make difference against Ireland

Defending world champions New Zealand are ready to conquer their quarter-final nerves and seize the slightest opportunity when they take on Ireland tomorrow (19), a side that has beaten them twice in their last three meetings.

Gateway wins All Island Under-20 Basketball championship

Having reached the top four, along with Royal College, Maris Stella College and Jaffna Central College, Gateway completed a very successful season by winning the All-Island (Jathika Pasal) Under-20 Schools Basketball Championship that was organised by the Ministry of Education. Prior to reaching the final stage, Gateway had also won the Western Province Tournament.

Malinga back to lead SL for Australia T20Is

Minister of Sports Harin Fernando yesterday (17) approved the 16-member squad led by Lasith Malinga for Sri Lanka’s forthcoming three-match T20I series against Australia.

Ananda-Nalanda hockey encounter on Saturday

The 18th annual Ananda-Nalanda hockey encounter will take place on Saturday (October 19) at the Astro Turf Intentional Hockey Ground in Reid Avenue from 3:30 pm onwards.

Army BC regains Clifford Cup title after eight years

The 93rd Men & Women Clifford Cup Boxing Championship concluded at the Royal College MAS Arena boxing ring with Army BC regained the men’s title after a lapse of eight years, while MAS Unichela BC retained the women’s title.

Sri Lanka lose to Lebanon 0-3

Lebanon defeated Sri Lanka 3-0 in their FIFA World Cup Qualifier worked off at the Racecourse Grounds in Reid Avenue yesterday (15).

PCB wants SLC to share costs if Test series is held in UAE

The Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) is not willing to bear the expenses of hosting another home series in the United Arab Emirates (UAE) and wants Sri Lanka Cricket (SLC) to share the financial burden if it decides not to tour Pakistan for the two-Test rubber in December.

Thilanga banned from holding office at SLC

Former Sri Lanka Cricket (SLC) President Thilanga Sumathipala was formally banned from holding any position at SLC following a directive issued by Sports Minister Harin Fernando, based on the findings and recommendations made by a three-member committee appointed by the Minister.

Tongans send Piutau off in style with win over United States

Tonga gave captain Siale Piutau a parting gift of a first victory of the Rugby World Cup with a 31-19 win over the United States on Sunday that left the Eagles pointless at the end of their campaign.

Wales beat Uruguay 35-13 to set up WC quarter-final with France

Wales set up a Rugby World Cup quarter-final with Six Nations rivals France as they topped Pool ’D’ with a far-from-perfect 35-13 win over minnows Uruguay today (13). A largely second-string Welsh side committed a slew of handling errors and forward passes but eventually had too much firepower, with two late tries putting some gloss on the scoreboard.

Namibia v Canada World Cup match cancelled after typhoon

The Rugby World Cup Pool ’B’ match between Namibia and Canada which was scheduled to be contested later on Sunday in Kamaishi has been cancelled because of the destruction caused by Typhoon Hagibis, World Rugby said.

Japan beat Scotland to reach first World Cup quarter-final

Japan’s “Ferraris” hit top gear Sunday as the hosts beat Scotland 28-21 in a barnstorming Rugby World Cup clash to create history by reaching the quarter-finals.

Ireland calm for Samoa clash amid Rugby World Cup typhoon turmoil

Ireland skipper Rory Best is taking a philosophical approach to Saturday’s critical clash with Samoa, keeping calm as Typhoon Hagibis wreaks havoc on the Rugby World Cup schedule.

Wallabies overcome tough Georgia ahead of World Cup knockouts

Australia fine-tuned preparations for a likely Rugby World Cup quarter-final against England with a hard-fought, error-strewn 27-8 Pool D victory over Georgia at Shizuoka today (11).

Susanthika and Tonie team up to take athletics to the next level

Renowned international athletics coach Tonie Campbell promised to unearth and develop Sri Lanka’s next Olympic medal prospect, along with his former protégé Susanthika Jayasinghe and the National Olympic Committee (NOC).

New players have given selectors food for thought – De Mel

With the emergence of the likes of Bhanuka Rajapaksa, Osadha Fernando and Minod Bhanuka, National Selectors are spoilt for choice in preparation for next year’s ICC World T20, Chief Selector Ashantha de Mel said yesterday, adding that only a handful of players who opted out of the tour of Pakistan were guaranteed of immediately returning to the team.

Wallabies avoid typhoon to line up ’tough’ Georgia

Escaping an incoming super typhoon, Australia will warm up for the Rugby World Cup quarter-finals with a last Pool ’D’ outing tomorrow (11) against “tough” Georgia.

SL runners-up in Mixed shuttle event at South Asian U/21 tournament

Sri Lanka lost to India 3-1 in the finals of the mixed team event at the South Asian Under-21 Regional Badminton Championships which is taking place in Addu City, Maldives.