News
Recent poor performances of Ronaldo and Messi

Real Madrid and French forward Karim Benzema won the Ballon d’Or for the first time.
Benzema scored 44 goals in 46 games as he helped Real Madrid win the Champions League and La Liga in 2021-22.
Lionel Messi (seven times) and Cristiano Ronaldo (five times) have won the award on 12 of the previous 13 occasions.
Messi and Ronaldo have dominated the award in recent years, apart from Croatia midfielder Luka Modric winning it in 2018.
Messi has already won the trophy more times than any other player and his seventh success in 2021 comes after victories in 2009, 2010, 2011, 2012, 2015 and 2019.
Manchester United’s Ronaldo, who last won it in 2017, finished 20th out of 30 nominees, the Portuguese’s lowest Ballon d’Or ranking since 2005.
Barcelona’s Alexia Putellas retained the 2022 Women’s Ballon d’Or.
රොනාල්ඩෝ සහ මෙසීගේ මෑත කාලීන දුර්වල දස්කම්
වසරේ දක්ෂතම පාපන්දු ක්රීඩකයාට පිරිනැමෙන Ballon d’Or සම්මානය ප්රථම වරට දිනාගැනීමට රියල් මැඩ්රිඩ් සහ ප්රංශ ඉදිරිපෙළ ක්රීඩක කරීම් බෙන්සෙමා සමත් විය.
2021-22 දී චැම්පියන්ස් ලීගය සහ ලා ලීගා දිනා ගැනීමට Real Madrid උදව් කළ බෙන්සෙමා තරඟ 46 කදී ගෝල 44 ක් රැස් කළේය.
ලයනල් මෙසී (හත් වතාවක්) සහ ක්රිස්ටියානෝ රොනාල්ඩෝ (පස් වතාවක්) මීට පෙර පැවති අවස්ථා 13 න් 12 කදීම මෙම සම්මානය දිනා ගෙන තිබුණි.
2018 වසරේ ක්රොඒෂියාවේ මැදපෙළ ක්රීඩක ලූකා මොඩ්රික් එය දිනාගත් අවස්ථාව හැරුණු විට මෑත වසරවලදී මෙසී සහ රොනාල්ඩෝ සම්මානයේ ආධිපත්යය දැරූහ.
මෙසී දැනටමත් වෙනත් ඕනෑම ක්රීඩකයෙකුට වඩා වැඩි වාර ගණනක් කුසලානය දිනාගෙන ඇති අතර 2021 දී ඔහුගේ හත්වන සාර්ථකත්වය පැමිණියේ 2009, 2010, 2011, 2012, 2015 සහ 2019 ජයග්රහණවලින් පසුවය.
අවසන් වරට 2017 දී එය ජයග්රහණය කළ මැන්චෙස්ටර් යුනයිටඩ් හි රොනාල්ඩෝ නම් කරන ලද ක්රීඩකයින් 30 දෙනාගෙන් 20 වැනි ස්ථානයට පත් වූ අතර එය 2005 සිට පෘතුගීසියේ පහළම බැලන් ඩි ඕර් ශ්රේණිගත කිරීම වේ.
Barcelona හි Alexia Putellas 2022 හොඳම කාන්තා පාපන්දු ක්රීඩිකාවට පිරිනැමෙන කාන්තා Ballon d’Or සම්මානය රඳවා ගැනීමට සමත් විය.
ரொனால்டோ மற்றும் மெஸ்ஸியின் ஆதிக்கத்தை இழந்தது
ரியல் மாட்ரிட் மற்றும் பிரான்ஸ் முன்கள வீரர் கரீம் பென்சிமா முதல் முறையாக பலோன் டி’ஓர் விருதை வென்றனர்.
2021-22ல் சாம்பியன்ஸ் லீக் மற்றும் லா லிகாவை ரியல் மாட்ரிட் வெல்வதற்கு பென்சிமா 46 ஆட்டங்களில் 44 கோல்களை அடித்தார்.
லியோனல் மெஸ்ஸி (ஏழு முறை) மற்றும் கிறிஸ்டியானோ ரொனால்டோ (ஐந்து முறை) ஆகியோர் முந்தைய 13 முறை 12 முறை இந்த விருதை வென்றுள்ளனர்.
2018 ஆம் ஆண்டில் குரோஷியாவின் மிட்ஃபீல்டர் லூகா மோட்ரிச் வென்றதைத் தவிர, சமீபத்திய ஆண்டுகளில் மெஸ்ஸி மற்றும் ரொனால்டோ ஆகியோர் இந்த விருதில் ஆதிக்கம் செலுத்தினர்.
மெஸ்ஸி ஏற்கனவே வேறு எந்த வீரரையும் விட அதிக முறை கோப்பையை வென்றுள்ளார், மேலும் 2009, 2010, 2011, 2012, 2015 மற்றும் 2019 வெற்றிகளுக்குப் பிறகு 2021 இல் அவரது ஏழாவது வெற்றி கிடைத்தது.
மான்செஸ்டர் யுனைடெட்டின் ரொனால்டோ, கடைசியாக 2017 இல் வென்றார், 30 பரிந்துரைக்கப்பட்டவர்களில் 20 வது இடத்தைப் பிடித்தார், இது 2005 ஆம் ஆண்டுக்குப் பிறகு போர்த்துகீசியத்தின் மிகக் குறைந்த பாலன் டி’ஓர் தரவரிசையாகும்.
பார்சிலோனாவின் அலெக்ஸியா புட்டெல்லாஸ் 2022 ஆம் ஆண்டுக்கான மகளிர் பலோன் டி’ஓரை தக்கவைத்துக் கொண்டார்.
Football
Stafford vs. Colombo International: The Second Edition of the Big Match Kicks Off!
Football fever returns as Stafford International School and Colombo International School gear up for the second edition of their highly anticipated Big Match! This year, the rivalry intensifies with four matches across different age and gender categories:
✅ U15 Girls
✅ U15 Boys
✅ U20 Girls
✅ U20 Boys
🏆 Stafford International’s Rising Stars:
- U15 Girls: Defending TISSL U14 and Colombo SLSFA District champions, featuring standout players like Keshalee Ranatunga and Sonja Ratanayake (just 10 years old!).
- U15 Boys: All-Island U14 runners-up out of 462 schools, led by goalkeeper Yash Amarasekara, who was named Best U14 GK in Sri Lanka.
- U20 Girls & Boys: Both teams finished as TISSL runners-up, boasting stars like Raya Rikaz, Yumna Safraz, Adnaan Ameen, and Nidurshan Mohan.
🏆 Colombo International’s Key Players:
- U15 Girls: TISSL U16 runners-up, featuring top defender Khadeeja Niyas and striker Ozra.
- U20 Girls: TISSL U20 runners-up, with Fioni Dedhia named Goalkeeper of the Tournament.
- U20 Boys: Defending Big Match champions, looking to retain their title behind stars like Krishwen and Habib.
👀 Who will come out on top this time? Watch the action LIVE at the link below! 🎥👇
#BigMatch2025 #SchoolFootball #SriLankaFootball #StaffordVsCIS #RivalryRenewed
Cricket
Shammi Silva Re-Elected as Sri Lanka Cricket President for Fourth Consecutive Term
Shammi Silva has been re-elected as the Sri Lanka Cricket (SLC) president for the 2025-27 term, marking his fourth consecutive tenure at the helm of the nation’s cricket governing body. Silva secured the position uncontested at the 64th Annual General Meeting (AGM) held in Colombo on Monday.
A Controversial Yet Dominant Tenure
Silva’s leadership has not been without controversy. His previous term saw a high-profile clash with former Sports Minister Roshan Ranasinghe in 2023, which led to an interim committee being appointed after Sri Lanka’s poor performance in the ICC ODI World Cup. This move resulted in ICC suspending SLC, which led to Sri Lanka losing the hosting rights for the U19 Men’s World Cup, which was later held in South Africa.
Despite these setbacks, Silva regained control after a court ruling reinstated his administration, and he was later appointed as the president of the Asian Cricket Council (ACC) in December 2023, replacing Jay Shah.
Challenges & Future Outlook
Sri Lanka Cricket has long been seen as a powerful and influential body, with internal politics often shaping its leadership. With financial mismanagement concerns highlighted in the Auditor General’s report, Silva’s administration faces the challenge of restoring credibility and ensuring better governance.
With the ICC ban lifted, Sri Lanka looks to rebuild its cricketing structure and improve performance on the international stage. The focus now shifts to upcoming bilateral series, the Asia Cup, and preparations for the 2027 ICC Cricket World Cup.
Stay tuned for more updates on Sri Lanka Cricket and the latest in the world of sports!
Cricket
Stephen Fleming Defends MS Dhoni’s Batting Position Amid Criticism
Chennai Super Kings (CSK) head coach Stephen Fleming has defended MS Dhoni’s late entry in the batting order, stating that the legendary wicketkeeper-batsman cannot play an extended innings at full intensity due to lingering knee concerns.
The 43-year-old Dhoni faced criticism after coming in at No. 9 during CSK’s 50-run loss to Royal Challengers Bengaluru at Chepauk. In the next match against Rajasthan Royals on March 30, 2025, he batted at No. 7 when CSK required 54 off 25 balls but managed just 16 off 11 as his team fell short by six runs.
Fleming’s Explanation on Dhoni’s Role
Fleming emphasized that Dhoni carefully assesses the match situation before deciding when to bat.
“It’s all about timing. MS judges his body and situation. His knees aren’t what they used to be, so he can’t bat for 10 overs at full intensity. He will step in based on the game’s demands,” Fleming explained at the post-match press conference.
The CSK coach reiterated that Dhoni remains too valuable to the team for his leadership and wicketkeeping and that sending him in too early could be a strategic misstep.
“From around the 13th or 14th over, he assesses the situation and decides. He trusts other batters early on but steps up when needed.”
CSK’s Struggles in the Powerplay Cost Them the Match
Fleming also pinpointed CSK’s poor powerplay performance as a key reason for their loss against Rajasthan Royals. While RR blasted 79/1 in the powerplay, CSK only managed 42/1,
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