News
Sports Minister to Italy to meet Yupun
Minister of Sports and Youth Affairs Mr Roshan Ranasinghe has gone to Italy to meet Yupun Abhekoon, a sprinter who has brought pride to Sri Lanka as well as Asia. Sports Minister Yupun Abhekoon met Abhekoon and his coach while he was participating in a training session. Italian Ambassador Mr Jagath Wellawatta also joined the occasion.
There, the minister was able to hold a long discussion with Yupun Abhekon and his coaches. The request to create training opportunities for talented players in Sri Lanka has already received good responses. Even now, the Binura athlete is engaged in training and the Sports Minister has also requested that the Ganga athlete who competes in the 800 meters should also be given the opportunity.
He also accepted the Sports Minister’s request for Claudi Licciardello, Yupun Abhekon’s coach, to visit Sri Lanka. Appreciating the presence of the Sports Minister, they have also told the Sports Minister that they will give their best to our team. Yesterday evening in Rome, Italy, an appreciation ceremony was held for the sportswomen who have come to Italy including Yupun Abhekoon, in which the Minister of Sports and Youth Affairs also joined.
යුපුන්ව හමු වීමට ක්රීඩා අමාත්යවරයා ඉතාලියට
ශ්රී ලාංකාවට මෙන්ම ආසියාවටම අභිමානයක් එක් කල කෙටි දුර ධවන ක්රීඩක යුපුන් අභේකෝන් හමු වීමට ක්රීඩා හා යෞවන කටයුතු අමාත්ය රොෂාන් රණසිංහ මහතා ඉතාලියට ගොස් ඇත. ක්රීඩා අමාත්යවරයා යුපුන් අභේකෝන් පුහුණු සැසියකට සහභාගී වෙමින් සිටියදී අභේකෝන් හා ඔහුගේ පුහුණුකරු හමු වී ඇත. එම අවස්ථාවට ඉතාලි තානාපති ආචාර්ය ජගත් වැල්ලවත්ත මහතාද එක් විය.
එහිදී යුපුන් අභේකෝන් හා ඔහුගේ පුහුණුකරුවන් සමග දීර්ඝ සාකාච්ඡාවක් පැවැත්වීමට අමාත්යවරයාට හැකියාව ලැබී ඇත. ශ්රී ලංකාවේ දක්ෂතා දක්වන ක්රීඩකයන්ට පුහුණු අවස්ථා උදා කර දෙන ලෙස කල ඉල්ලීමට යහපත් ප්රතිචාර දැනටමත් ලැබී ඇත. මේ වන විටත් බිනුර ක්රීඩකයා පුහුණුවීම් වල නිරත වන අතර මීටර් 800 තරග කරන ගංගා ක්රීඩිකාවටත් අවස්ථාව උදා කර දෙන ලෙස ක්රීඩා අමාත්යවරයා ඉල්ලීමක්ද කර ඇත.
යුපුන් අභේකෝන්ගේ පුහුණුකරුවන Claudi Licciardello හට ශ්රී ලංකාවේ සංචාරයක නිරත වන ලෙස ක්රීඩා අමාත්යවරයා කල ඉල්ලීමද ඔහු විසින් පිලිගහ. ක්රීඩා අමාත්යවරයාගේ පැමිණීම අගය කළ ඔවුන්, ඔවුන්ගේ උපරිමය අප කණ්ඩායම වෙත ලබා දෙන බවටද ක්රීඩා අමාත්යවරයාට පවසා ඇත. ඊයේ හවස ඉතාලියේ රෝමයේදී යුපුන් අභේකෝන් ඇතුළු ඉතාලියට පැමිණ සිටින ක්රීඩිකාවන් ඇගයීමේ උත්සවයක් පැවැත්වූ අතර, එයට ක්රීඩා හා යෞවන කටයුතු අමාත්යවරයාද එක් විය.
யுபுனை சந்திக்க விளையாட்டு அமைச்சர் இத்தாலிக்கு
இலங்கைக்கு மட்டுமல்ல ஆசியாவுக்கும் பெருமை சேர்த்த ஓட்டப்பந்தய வீரர் யுபுன் அபேகோனை சந்திப்பதற்காக விளையாட்டு மற்றும் இளைஞர் விவகார அமைச்சர் திரு.ரொஷான் ரணசிங்க இத்தாலி சென்றுள்ளார். விளையாட்டு அமைச்சர் யுபுன் அபேகோன் பயிற்சி அமர்வில் பங்குபற்றிய போது அபேகோனையும் அவரது பயிற்சியாளரையும் சந்தித்தார். இத்தாலிய தூதுவர் திரு.ஜெகத் வெள்ளவத்த அவர்களும் இந்நிகழ்வில் கலந்துகொண்டனர்.
அங்கு அமைச்சர் யுபுன் அபேகோன் மற்றும் அவரது பயிற்சியாளர்களுடன் நீண்ட நேரம் கலந்துரையாடினார். இலங்கையில் திறமையான வீரர்களுக்கு பயிற்சி வாய்ப்புகளை உருவாக்க வேண்டும் என்ற கோரிக்கைக்கு ஏற்கனவே நல்ல வரவேற்பு கிடைத்துள்ளது. தற்போதும் பினுரா வீராங்கனை பயிற்சியில் ஈடுபட்டுள்ளதுடன், 800 மீற்றர் ஓட்டப் போட்டியில் பங்கேற்கும் கங்கா வீராங்கனைக்கும் சந்தர்ப்பம் வழங்கப்பட வேண்டும் எனவும் விளையாட்டுத்துறை அமைச்சர் கோரிக்கை விடுத்துள்ளார்.
யுபுன் அபேகோனின் பயிற்றுவிப்பாளர் கிளாடி லிச்சியார்டெல்லோவை இலங்கைக்கு வருமாறு விளையாட்டுத்துறை அமைச்சர் விடுத்த கோரிக்கையையும் அவர் ஏற்றுக்கொண்டார். விளையாட்டுத்துறை அமைச்சரின் வருகையைப் பாராட்டிய அவர்கள், எங்களது அணிக்கு சிறந்ததை வழங்குவோம் என்றும் விளையாட்டுத்துறை அமைச்சரிடம் கூறியுள்ளனர். நேற்று மாலை இத்தாலியின் ரோம் நகரில் யுபுன் அபேகோன் உட்பட இத்தாலிக்கு வருகை தந்த விளையாட்டு வீராங்கனைகளுக்கான பாராட்டு விழா இடம்பெற்றதுடன், விளையாட்டு மற்றும் இளைஞர் விவகார அமைச்சரும் இதில் கலந்துகொண்டார்.
Colombo | Friday, 13 June 2025 | Kickoff: 4:00 PM (IST)
Sri Lanka will kick off their Asia Rugby Emirates Men’s Championship 2025 Pool A campaign this Friday (13th June) at ARMC #1 in Colombo, taking on higher-ranked South Korea in a crucial Round 1 encounter.
This marks South Korea’s first match of the tournament, while Sri Lanka enters the game high on confidence, following a resounding 59-19 win against Malaysia on April 19 at the Racecourse Ground, Colombo.
However, the Lankan Lions face a potential setback, with skipper Nigel Ratwatte possibly missing the match due to illness. Sources close to the team confirm that Nigel is recovering from a fever and remains a game-time decision. His absence could leave a leadership gap as Sri Lanka look to challenge a technically sound South Korean outfit.
World Rugby Rankings Ahead of the Clash:
- South Korea: Ranked 35th, 50.77 points
- Sri Lanka: Ranked 39th, 47.99 points
The upcoming match is not only vital for tournament progression but also crucial for World Rugby ranking points, with Sri Lanka having a golden opportunity to close the gap on their Pool A rivals.
With the home crowd behind them and recent form in their favour, Sri Lanka will be hoping for a strong start—even without their inspirational skipper.
June 11, Lord’s – ICC World Test Championship Final
The much-anticipated ICC World Test Championship Final 2025 kicked off at Lord’s with South Africa taking early control by reducing Australia to 67/4 at lunch on Day 1.
After winning the toss and electing to field first under overcast conditions, South Africa’s pace attack made immediate inroads into Australia’s top order. Marco Jansen was the pick of the bowlers in the opening session, claiming 2 wickets for 27 runs in 7.2 overs. Wiaan Mulder offered excellent support, keeping things tight with 3 maidens in his 6-over spell.
Australia Struggle Under Pressure
Veteran batter Steve Smith remained at the crease with a fighting 26 off 51 balls, trying to anchor the innings after early setbacks. He will be joined by Travis Head (11*) as Australia looks to rebuild post-lunch.
Current Score: Australia 67/4 (23.2 overs)
Fall of Wickets: 67/4
Session: Day 1 – Lunch
World Test Championship 2023–25 Standings (Before Final)
| Pos | Team | Pld | Pts | PCT (%) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | South Africa | 12 | 100 | 69.44 |
| 2 | Australia | 19 | 154 | 67.54 |
| 3 | India | 19 | 114 | 50.00 |
| 4 | New Zealand | 14 | 81 | 48.21 |
| 5 | England | 22 | 114 | 43.18 |
| 6 | Sri Lanka | 13 | 60 | 38.46 |
| 7 | Bangladesh | 12 | 45 | 31.25 |
| 8 | West Indies | 13 | 44 | 28.21 |
| 9 | Pakistan | 14 | 47 | 27.98 |
Top 2 teams qualify for the final. Teams are ranked by percentage of points won. Points deductions apply for slow over rates.
Top Performers This Cycle
Batting Leaders:
- Joe Root (ENG) – 1,968 runs | Avg: 54.66 (40 innings)
- Yashasvi Jaiswal (IND) – 1,798 runs | Avg: 52.88 (36 innings)
- Ben Duckett (ENG) – [Stats not fully available]
Bowling Leaders:
- Jasprit Bumrah (IND) – 77 wickets | Avg: 15.09 (28 innings)
- Pat Cummins (AUS) – 73 wickets | Avg: 24.54 (33 innings)
- Mitchell Starc (AUS) – 72 wickets | Avg: 27.27 (35 innings)
Sri Lanka’s Position
Sri Lanka sits at 6th on the table with 60 points from 13 matches and a 38.46% win rate. With one more cycle ahead before the next WTC final in 2027, the Lions have plenty to play for as they look to rise up the rankings.
Colombo, June 11 – Sri Lanka bounced back in style in the AFC Asian Cup 2027 Qualifiers with a commanding 3–1 victory over Chinese Taipei in their Group D clash held in Colombo. The win comes as a crucial lifeline for the Lions, who are now level on points with Thailand and firmly in the race for qualification.
After a narrow defeat in their opening match against Thailand, Sri Lanka showcased character, discipline, and attacking flair against a struggling Chinese Taipei side.
De Silva Shines Bright for Sri Lanka
The star of the night was undoubtedly Dillon De Silva, who delivered a match-winning performance. He provided an early assist for Wazeem Razeek before scoring a stunning goal to put Sri Lanka ahead 2–0. De Silva continued to dictate the game and capped off his night with a second assist in the final stages, wrapping up a well-deserved victory for the home side.
“This win is a turning point for us. We showed heart and belief. Our fans deserved this,” said De Silva after the match.
Group D Standings After Matchday 2
Position Team Played W–D–L Goals (F–A) GD Points
| Pos | Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Turkmenistan | 2 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 5 | 2 | +3 | 6 |
| 2 | Thailand | 2 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 2 | 3 | -1 | 3 |
| 3 | Sri Lanka | 2 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 3 | 2 | +1 | 3 |
| 4 | Chinese Taipei | 2 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 2 | 5 | -3 | 0 |
The group remains wide open, with Sri Lanka now needing strong results against both Thailand and Turkmenistan to keep their hopes alive for a historic qualification to the AFC Asian Cup 2027 in Saudi Arabia.
What’s Next?
Sri Lanka will next face group leaders Turkmenistan in a crucial encounter. With momentum back on their side and home support growing, the national team will look to carry this energy forward and push for qualification glory.
Sri Lanka Set to Face South Korea in Asia Rugby Men’s Championship – Skipper Nigel in Doubt
AUS 67/4 at Lunch as South Africa Dominate Early on Day 1 of WTC Final 2025 at Lord’s
Sri Lanka Roars Back in AFC Asian Cup 2027 Qualifiers with 3–1 Victory Over Chinese Taipei
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