News
Ross Taylor gets a slap from the Rajasthan Royals owner!!!
Former New Zealand batsman Ross Taylor claims he was “slapped on the cheek” by an owner of the Rajasthan Royals franchise during the 2011 IPL season. Taylor made the revelation in his new autobiography, Ross Taylor: Black and White, and says the incident took place after the defeat against Kings XI Punjab in Mohali.
The chase in that match was 195, I was out for no runs and couldn’t win the match,” Taylor wrote in his book, an extract from which was published on Stuff.co.nz. “Then, the team, the support staff and Management left. At the bar on the top floor of the hotel. Liz Hurley was there with Warnie [Shane Warne]. A Royals owner said to me, “Rose, we didn’t pay you a million dollars to get scoreless,” and punched me in the face three or four times. He was smiling and they weren’t hard slaps, but I’m not sure it was completely an act. I wasn’t going to make an issue of it, but I couldn’t imagine such actions happening in most professional gaming environments.
The royals are yet to issue a response on the matter.
Having spent three years with Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) from 2008 to 2010, Taylor played one season for the Royals – in 2011 – after being bought at the auction for USD 1 million. In his book, Taylor said he wished he had stayed at RCB.
රොස් ටේලර් ට රාජස්ථාන් රෝයල්ස් හිමිකරුගෙන් කනේ පහරක්!!!
හිටපු නවසීලන්ත පිතිකරු රොස් ටේලර් 2011 IPL වාරයේ දී රාජස්ථාන් රෝයල්ස් ෆ්රැන්චයිස් හි හිමිකරුවෙකු විසින් තමාට “කම්මුලට පහරක් ගැසූ ” බව කියා සිටී. ටේලර් ඔහුගේ නව ස්වයං චරිතාපදානය වන රොස් ටේලර්: බ්ලැක් ඇන්ඩ් වයිට් හි මෙම හෙළිදරව්ව සිදු කළ අතර, මොහාලිහිදී කිංග්ස් XI පන්ජාබ් පිලට එරෙහිව පරාජයෙන් පසුව මෙම සිද්ධිය සිදුවූ බව පවසයි.
එම තරගයේ ලුහුබැඳීම 195 විය, මම ලකුණු නොලබා දැවී ගිය අතර එම තරගය ජයග්රහණය කිරීමට නොහැකි විය,” ටේලර් ඔහුගේ පොතේ ලියා ඇති අතර, එයින් උපුටා ගැනීමක් Stuff.co.nz හි ප්රකාශයට පත් කරන ලදී. “ඉන්පසු, කණ්ඩායම, සහාය කාර්ය මණ්ඩලය සහ කළමනාකාරීත්වය ඉවත් විය. හෝටලයේ ඉහළ මහලේ ඇති බාර් එකේ. Liz Hurley එහි සිටියේ Warnie [Shane Warne] සමගයි. රෝයල්ස් හිමිකරුවෙක් මට කිව්වා, ‘රෝස්, අපි ඔබට ලකුණු නොලබා දැවී යාම් ලබා ගැනීමට ඩොලර් මිලියනයක් දුන්නේ නැහැ’ කියා මගේ මුහුණට තුන් හතර වතාවක් පහර දුන්නා. ඔහු සිනාසෙමින් සිටි අතර ඒවා දැඩි කම්මුල් පහරක් නොවූ නමුත් එය සම්පූර්ණයෙන්ම රංගනයක් බව මට විශ්වාස නැත. මම එය ගැටලුවක් කිරීමට යන්නේ නැත, නමුත් බොහෝ වෘත්තීය ක්රීඩා පරිසරයන් තුළ එවැනි ක්රියාවන් සිදුවේයැයි මට සිතාගත නොහැකි විය.
රාජකීයයන් තවමත් මේ සම්බන්ධයෙන් ප්රතිචාරයක් නිකුත් කර නොමැත.
2008 සිට 2010 දක්වා Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) හි වසර තුනක් ගත කර ඇති ටේලර්, වෙන්දේසියේදී USD මිලියනයකට මිලදී ගැනීමෙන් පසුව – 2011 දී – Royals වෙනුවෙන් එක් වාරයක් ක්රීඩා කළේය. ඔහුගේ පොතේ, ටේලර් කියා සිටියේ ඔහු RCB හි නැවතී සිටියා නම් ඔහු කැමති බවයි.
ராஜஸ்தான் ராயல்ஸ் அணியின் உரிமையாளர் ராஸ் டெய்லரை அறைந்தார்!!!
2011 ஐபிஎல் சீசனில் ராஜஸ்தான் ராயல்ஸ் உரிமையாளரால் “கன்னத்தில் அறைந்ததாக” நியூசிலாந்து முன்னாள் பேட்ஸ்மேன் ராஸ் டெய்லர் கூறுகிறார்.
டெய்லர் தனது புதிய சுயசரிதையான ராஸ் டெய்லர்: பிளாக் அண்ட் ஒயிட் இல் வெளிப்படுத்தினார், மேலும் மொஹாலியில் கிங்ஸ் லெவன் பஞ்சாப் அணிக்கு எதிரான தோல்விக்குப் பிறகு இந்த சம்பவம் நடந்ததாக கூறுகிறார்.
அந்த போட்டியில் துரத்தியது 195, நான் ரன் ஏதும் எடுக்காமல் அவுட் ஆனேன், போட்டியில் வெற்றி பெற முடியவில்லை” என்று டெய்லர் தனது புத்தகத்தில் எழுதினார், அதில் இருந்து ஒரு பகுதி Stuff.co.nz இல் வெளியிடப்பட்டது. “பின்னர், அணி, ஆதரவு ஊழியர்கள் மற்றும் நிர்வாகத்தினர் வெளியேறினர். ஹோட்டலின் மேல் தளத்தில் உள்ள பாரில். லிஸ் ஹர்லி வார்னியுடன் [ஷேன் வார்னே] உடன் இருந்தார். ராயல்ஸ் உரிமையாளர் ஒருவர் என்னிடம், “ரோஸ், ஸ்கோர்லெஸ் பெற நாங்கள் உங்களுக்கு ஒரு மில்லியன் டாலர்கள் கொடுக்கவில்லை,” என்று கூறி என் முகத்தில் மூன்று அல்லது நான்கு முறை குத்தினார். நான் சிரித்துக் கொண்டுருந்தேன், அவை கடினமான அறைகள் அல்ல, ஆனால் அது முற்றிலும் ஒரு செயல் என்று எனக்குத் தெரியவில்லை. நான் அதை ஒரு சிக்கலை ஏட்படுத்தப் போவதில்லை, ஆனால் பெரும்பாலான தொழில்முறை கேமிங் சூழல்களில் இதுபோன்ற செயல்கள் நடப்பதை என்னால் கற்பனை செய்து பார்க்க முடியவில்லை.
இந்த விவகாரம் குறித்து ராயல் சேலஞ்சர்ஸ் குடும்பத்தினர் இன்னும் பதில் அளிக்கவில்லை.
2008 முதல் 2010 வரை ராயல் சேலஞ்சர்ஸ் பெங்களூர் (RCB) உடன் மூன்று ஆண்டுகள் செலவழித்த டெய்லர், 2011 இல் ராயல்ஸ் அணிக்காக ஒரு சீசனில் விளையாடினார். டெய்லர் தனது புத்தகத்தில், தான் ஆர்சிபியில் தங்கியிருந்தால் விரும்புவதாகக் கூறினார்.
News
South Asian Karate Championship 2025: India and Sri Lanka Shine as Karate Celebrates 50 Years in Sri Lanka
Colombo, July 5–6, 2025 – The 9th South Asian Karate Championship and the 1st South Asian Youth Karate Championship successfully concluded at the Sugathadasa Indoor Stadium, marking a landmark moment in Sri Lanka’s martial arts history as the nation celebrates the 50th Anniversary of the Sri Lanka Karate Federation.
This prestigious two-day event was jointly organized by the South Asian Karate Federation and the Sri Lanka Karate Federation, which is registered under the Ministry of Sports as one of the seven official sports federations in the country.
Day 1 (July 5) – Youth Championship Dominated by India and Sri Lanka
The opening day featured intense youth-level competition with over 700 athletes from seven South Asian nations – Sri Lanka, India, Nepal, Bhutan, Pakistan, Bangladesh, and the Maldives – competing in age categories below 14.
🥇 Youth Medal Standings (U-14 Category):
- India – 22 Medals (1st Place)
- Nepal – 20 Medals (2nd Place)
- Sri Lanka – 10 Medals (3rd Place)
📺 Watch Day 1 Highlights:
Final Day (July 6) – Sri Lanka Takes Youth Title, India Clinches Senior Crown
The second day of the tournament featured both senior and youth finals. In a historic achievement, Sri Lanka emerged champions in the Youth Division, while India secured the Senior Team Championship, continuing their regional dominance.
Final Team Standings:
- Senior Category:
- 🥇 India (Champions)
- 🥈 Nepal (Runners-up)
- 🥉 Sri Lanka (Third Place)
- Youth Category:
- 🥇 Sri Lanka (Champions)
- 🥈 India (Runners-up)
- 🥉 Nepal (Third Place)
Watch Final Day Highlights:
Special Guests & Recognition
The event was graced by His Excellency Akio Isomata, the Japanese Ambassador to Sri Lanka, who attended as the Chief Guest, acknowledging Sri Lanka’s long-standing contribution to the growth of karate in South Asia.
Also present was Bharat Sharma, President of the South Asian Karate Federation, who praised the standard of competition and Sri Lanka’s organizing excellence.
Karate in Sri Lanka – 50 Years of Legacy
This championship coincided with the 50th Anniversary of the Sri Lanka Karate Federation, which has played a vital role in shaping karate talent nationally and internationally. With continued support from the Ministry of Sports, karate remains one of Sri Lanka’s fastest-growing combat sports.
Football
Sri Lanka Women Finish Qualifiers with 0 Goals, 20 Conceded – Who Will Take Responsibility?
Colombo, July 3 – Sri Lanka Women’s National Football Team wrapped up their AFC Women’s Asian Cup 2026 Qualifiers campaign with a third straight defeat — a 2-0 loss to Laos — confirming their position at the bottom of Group F, with 0 wins, 0 goals scored, and 18 conceded in just three games.
But beyond the scorelines lies a far more serious issue: a complete collapse of women’s football development in Sri Lanka. And this time, the blame does not lie on one individual — but on a system that has failed the sport, from top to bottom.

Match-by-Match Recap
Match 1: Sri Lanka 0 – 10 Uzbekistan
- Possession: 30%
- Shots on Target: 0
- xG: 0.0 vs Uzbekistan’s 3.60
- A game that exposed a lack of preparation, structure, and fitness from the very start.
Match 2: Sri Lanka 0 – 8 Nepal
- Possession: 50%
- Defensive errors gifted goals, including a hat-trick by Sabitra Bhandari.
- xG: Nepal 3.76 vs Sri Lanka 0.60
- Tactical breakdown: Midfield collapsed under pressure, backline failed to close space.
Match 3: Sri Lanka 0 – 2 Laos
- Possession: 50%
- Shots on Target: 5
- xG: 2.56 (Laos) vs 1.08 (Sri Lanka)
- A more balanced performance, but defensive lapses in the 73rd and 90+2 minutes led to defeat. Sri Lanka couldn’t convert chances despite their best game statistically.
Final Group Standings – Group F
Team | MP | GF | GA | GD | Points |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
🇳🇵 Nepal | 2 | 17 | 0 | +17 | 6 |
🇺🇿 Uzbekistan | 2 | 17 | 0 | +17 | 6 |
🇱🇦 Laos | 2 | 2 | 16 | -14 | 0 |
🇱🇰 Sri Lanka | 3 | 0 | 20 | -20 | 0 |
Tactical Issues Across All Matches
- No clear formation or transition play.
- Lack of defensive coordination — players failed to track runners, especially on the flanks.
- No attacking identity — only 1.08 xG across three games.
- In-game management absent — few substitutions or tactical shifts despite being outplayed.
While public criticism often targets the President of the Football Federation, this decline in women’s football runs deeper:
Who Is Accountable? Not Just the President
Women’s Football Committee:
- Failed to organize any domestic tournament in recent years.
- Selected the squad via open trials, with no league performance data to back selections.
- No consistent training camps or fitness programs.
Executive Committee:
- Remains silent on the recurring failures.
- No inquiries, reviews, or structural reforms have followed Sri Lanka’s repeated humiliations — including the U20 Women’s SAFF defeat earlier this year.
Technical & Development Staff:
- No tactical framework or youth development.
- No modern coaching methods or international exposure for players.
The Bigger Problem: Silence and Stagnation
Sri Lanka is not just losing matches — it’s losing direction. The current state of women’s football is not the result of one bad campaign. It’s the product of years of neglect, political appointments, and a failure to treat women’s football with equal priority.
Even now, there is no explanation from the Executive Committee on how the women’s team was prepared or what plans exist for recovery.
Time for a Reset, Not Excuses
If Sri Lanka is serious about competing in international football, the following must be addressed:
- ✅ A national women’s league
- ✅ Provincial and school-level competitions
- ✅ Professional coaching staff and structured fitness programs
- ✅ Regular international friendlies and camps
- ✅ Transparent selection processes based on performance, not politics
🔚 Conclusion
Sri Lanka’s 2026 AFC campaign should not just be remembered for the scorelines — but as a call for change. It is time for every stakeholder — from the Women’s Committee to the Executive — to reflect, respond, and rebuild.
News
Sri Lanka Set to Face UAE in Crucial Rugby Clash Tomorrow in Colombo
The Sri Lanka national rugby team will lock horns with the United Arab Emirates (UAE) in a much-anticipated international rugby encounter set to take place today (July 4) at the iconic Racecourse Ground, Colombo.
As part of their final preparations, the Sri Lankan team held an intensive training session today under the watchful eyes of the coaching staff. The team looked sharp, focused, and ready to bring their A-game to home soil.
This clash promises to be a key test for the Tuskers as they look to strengthen their footing in the regional rugby scene and gain momentum ahead of upcoming international competitions. UAE, a rising force in Asian rugby, will also be eyeing a big performance away from home.
Both teams are expected to field strong lineups, and the match is anticipated to draw significant interest from local fans eager to witness top-tier rugby action.
📍 Match Info
🗓️ Date: July 4, 2025
📍 Venue: Racecourse Rugby Grounds, Colombo
🕒 Kick-off: TBA
Stay tuned for live updates, photos, and post-match coverage on Sri Lankan Sports TV.
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