FINA confirms Daniel, Mayumi for Olympics Billionaire

Thursday 12th June, 2008
FINA confirms
Daniel,
Mayumi for
Olympics
Maldives sink Sri Lanka
in disappointment
by Reemus Fernando
Daniel
Mayumi
FINA, the international governing body for aquatic sports, has confirmed the selection of Daniel Lee
and Mayumi Raheem as Sri Lanka
participants for swimming at the
forthcoming Beijing Olympics subject to the approval of the Sri Lanka
National Olympic Committee, a communiqué sent by SL Aquatic Sports
Union (SLASU) said on Wednesday
(11).
FINA has picked these two swimmers in accordance with the Rule
BL 8.3.6.2 which relates to National
Federations / National Olympic
Committees having swimmers who
have not met with the Olympic qualifying standards set by FINA.
According to the SLASU media
release, the above mentioned regulation provides for the participation of
one male and one female athlete provided their participation in the 12th
FINA World Championships in
Melbourne 2007 while allowing
FINA to make final decision on such
selections.
Maldives’ most trusted duo Ibrahim
Fazeel and Ali Ashfaq got together in
the 70th minute of the game to score the
decisive goal of the match to win the
semi-final of the SAFF Championship
played under lights in an electrifying
atmosphere at the Sugathadasa Stadium
last night.
There was no big influx of
Maldivians, as predicted by the Football
Federation of Sri Lanka. Just some
hundreds of Maldivian fans cheered
their team, but the spirited team from
the archipelago managed to sink the
hopes of thousands of Sri Lankans
turned up at the Sugathadasa Stadium
in bitter disappointment with one kick
that ballooned over goalkeeper Asanka
Viraj’s desperate hands.
With the yawning net gulping the
only goal scored in the match, Sri
Lanka’s every attempt at the dying
stages, to make a come-back, went in
vain.
In fact, Sri Lanka remained on top
on more than one occasion inching
close to the goal posts to a zero defence
but luck was definitely not on their way.
A new look Kasun Jayasuriya, couldn’t
evade the ghost that haunted him during the entire tournament. Several
attempts, including a close 4th minute
strike, found the opposition goal keeper’s safe hands. Another header to a free
kick from skipper Chathura
Madhuranga went flying inches over
the cross bar. Jayasuriya, who normally
Sri Lankan players look desperate as another chance goes begging at the semi-final played at the Sugathadasa stadium
yesterday. (Pic by Kamal Wanniarachchi)
leads Sri Lanka’s goal scorers’ list, was
strangely left without a single goal in
this tournament.
For Maldives, it was their most experienced duo, Fazeel and Ashfaq, who
swung the pendulum, that hang on a
balance, till the 70th minute of the
game.
Ashfaq, who led the fight in the first
half piercing Sri Lankan defence couple
of times, was later well guarded by the
hosts. In a second half, he changed
gears and took the first opportunity he
got to pass the ball to a well positioned
Fazeel to boot the match winning goal
for the visitors.
It was the battle of the islanders,
fought in an islan and the Maldives
Udayanga 101 highlight of Galle District win
Galle district defeated Colombo
South by 2 wickets in an Under-19
Inter-District semi final match
played at the Colts grounds.
Batting first, Colombo South B
were restricted to 166 in 46.3 overs.
Having to get 167 to record a win
Galle District got home in 43.4 overs
for the loss of eight wickets.
Chief scores: Colombo South
B 166 all out (S. Ranasooriya 34,
M.Vanhoff 38, MSL Jayawardene 3
for 28)
Galle District Imesh Udayanga
101,Chathura Peiris 3 for 31)
caught the last boat that took them to
the final. And, the hosts were left in bitter isolation pondering whom to cheer
when the final is held at the same
venue. A team that wanted to play the
final on home soil, will now see India,
who beat Bhutan in Male in yesterday’s
encounter, meet Maldives at the
Sugathadasa stadium.
Billionaire Stanford to
fund lucrative T-20 match
Wesley retain challenge
trophy against Thurstan
by Rukshan Razak
The inter-school rugby tussle ended
in a deadlock as Wesley College came
from behind to hold Thurstan College
to a score of 8-all. It was a Singer
Inter-school Group ‘B’ league game
played at Longdon Place yesterday.
At the breather the Thurstanites
led 8 points to three.
A fine effort in the second half by
the Wesleyites, who collected their
points off a try and penalty, identically
as their opposition, enabled them to
retain the annual challenge trophy
which was on offer, owing to their victory in last year’s match.
The lads from Thurstan, who came
close to beat their rivals yesterday,
could not come out with a forceful display in the second half and thus had
their win-less hoodoo extended for yet
another year, the seventh year running.
Sir R. Allen Stanford, center, chairman of Stanford 20/20 Cricket, surrounded by officials and former cricket stars pose in front of a box containing 20
million US dollars, during a photo call following a news conference, at the
Lords Cricket Ground on Wednesday, June 11, 2008. With him are Sir Ian
Botham, Sir Viv Richards, 2nd left, Dr Julian Hunte, Chairman of the West
Indian cricket board, 2nd right and David Collier, right, of the ECB.(AP)
Once again, it was Thurstan
College centre Lahiru Weerasinghe
who came in as their savior, strengthening the lads from Reid Avenue by
being responsible for their total count.
It was Dulanjana Wijesinghe who did
the scoring, in the form of a try, for
Wesley, which was converted by fly
half Dulaj Perera.
Najeem Gafoor refereed.
LONDON (AP) - Texan
billionaire Allen Stanford has
launched his winner-take-all
US$20 million (euro13 million) Twenty20 match
between England and the
West Indies All Stars, offering
cricketers likely the biggest
one-off payday in team
sports.
After two months of negotiations with the England and
Wales Cricket Board, Stanford
confirmed Wednesday that
Published by Upali Newspapers Ltd, 223, Bloemendhal Road, Colombo 13. and Printed at 195/187, High Level Road, Homagama on Thursday 12th June, 2008
the first of five annual one-off
matches would be played in
Antigua on Nov. 1, the day the
Caribbean island annually
celebrates its independence
from England.
Stanford, a wealthy businessman who is now an
Antigua citizen and runs his
own Twenty20 tournament in
the West Indies, will fund a
one-off England vs. West
Indies All Stars match every
November for five years.