Sport in Sri Lanka
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Sport in Sri Lanka is a significant part of
's schools and colleges regularly organize sports and athletics teams, competing on provincial and national levels.The
Sri Lanka has many sports stadiums, including
The Sri Lanknan Government does the needed renovations to keep hold on the quality of the stadiums, with the separated funds shared for Sri Lankan Cricket. The cricket board draws and recruit new players annually, and divided into two team A and B. Once the players reach a higher position in their career, they have the opportunity to get picked under the Nation team.
History
Traditional sports
Some of the traditional sports in Sri Lanka include Kabaddi, Gillidanda (proto-cricket), Kili thadthu, Kanna muchi, Chak-gudu, Thenkai addi and Elle. There are two styles of martial arts native to Sri Lanka, which are Cheenadi and Angampora.
Avurudu Sports
Games such as Kotta Pora (Pillow fight), Ankeliya (tugging the horn), Kana mutti bindeema (breaking pots), Porapol Gaseema, Lissana gaha nageema (climbing the greasy pole),Banis Kaema (bun eating contest) and Gudu Keliya are played during the Avurudu times.[7]
International competition
Olympic Games
Asian Games
South Asian Games
Commonwealth Games
Paralympics Games
Major tournaments
- Major Leagues
League | Sport | Tier | Teams | Established |
---|---|---|---|---|
Lanka Premier League | Cricket (T20) | 1 | 5 | 2020 |
Premier Limited Overs Tournament | Cricket (List A) | 1 | 26 | 1988-89 |
Major League Tournament (Sri Lanka) | Cricket (First-class) | 1 | 26 | 1938 |
Sri Lanka Rugby Championship | Rugby union | 1 | 8 | 1950 |
Sri Lanka Super League | Football | 1 | 10 | 2021 |
Sri Lanka Champions League | Football | 2 | 18 | 1985 |
- Major Cups
Cup | Sport | Teams | Established |
---|---|---|---|
Clifford Cup | Rugby union (knockout) | 8 | 1911 |
Sri Lanka FA Cup | Football (knockout) | 8 | 1948 |
Popular sports
Cricket
Cricket is the most popular sport in Sri Lanka.[8] It is one of the twelve nations that are full members and take part in test cricket and one of the seven nations that has won a Cricket World Cup. Cricket is played at professional, semi-professional and recreational levels in the country and international cricket matches are watched with interest by a large proportion of the population.
Cricket was brought to the island by the British and was first played in the 1800s. The earliest definite mention of cricket in Ceylon was a report in the Colombo Journal on 5 September 1832 which called for the formation of a cricket club. The Colombo Cricket Club was formed soon afterwards and matches began in November 1832. Since then, the sport has grown domestically with major events such as the Premier Trophy (starting 1938) and the Premier Limited Overs Tournament (starting 1988–89).
Sri Lanka's
Football
Netball
Netball was first played in Sri Lanka in 1921.[10] The first game was played by the Ceylon Girl Guide Company at Kandy High School.[10] In 1927, netball was played at Government Training College for the first time. This helped spread the game around Sri Lanka.[10] In 1952, Sri Lankan clubs were playing Indian club sides.[10] In 1956, Sri Lanka played its first international match against Australia's national team in Sri Lanka.[10] In 1972, the Netball Federation of Sri Lanka was created.[10] In 1983, Netball Federation of Sri Lanka was dissolved by the government.[10]
England's record against Ceylon in international matched between 1949 and 1976 was one win.[11]
Sri Lanka took part in the 1960 netball meeting of Commonwealth countries to try to standardize the rules for the game.[12] This meeting took place in the country.[12]
As of January 2011, the women's national team was ranked number fifteen in the world.
Rugby union
Sri Lanka is yet to qualify for the
Sri Lanka also has a
Problems with the development of rugby in Sri Lanka have been threefold - first, a lack of finance, second, third world infrastructure, and third, the country has been war torn for a number of years.[14]
Other sports
Australian Rules Football
Australian rules football is a growing sport in Sri Lanka.[17] However the sport in being discussed how best to promote it in Sri Lanka when a group of AFL officials met with the country's Minister of Internal Trade and Cooperatives, Johnston Fernando in 2010.
Manel Dharmakeerthie and Milton Amarasinghe, a former Director General of Sports, are working together to develop Australian football in Sri Lanka. Their first aim is a tournament to be held in 2011. Fernando was supportive of their plans, and has agreed to offer, "his fullest support to develop footy (in Sri Lanka)."
Several current and former AFL players were also present at the meeting, including the AFL's new International Ambassador, Brett Kirk. The players are in Sri Lanka to learn more about that country's indigenous Vadda people and their place in Sri Lankan society, in an attempt to assist Australia's own indigenous communities upon their return.[18]
American Football
Beginning in November 2012, Colombo will field an
Badminton
Baseball
Baseball was introduced to Sri Lanka in mid-1980s. The US Embassy to introduced the game to Sri Lanka on the request of former Minister Hon, Festus Perera. Four teams were created to learn about the game, which are Sri Lanka Air force Baseball Club, Shakthi Baseball Club, Gold Fish Baseball Club and Royal College Baseball Club. In the beginning the US Embassy staff played friendly baseball games with the local teams at Havelock Park, Colombo.
Sri Lanka secured a position to compete in the first ever and the team's first ever tournament the Asian Baseball Cup, which was held in the Philippines in 1995. In 2009, the Sri Lanka national baseball team qualified for the 2009 Asian Baseball Championship, the first time in that tournament.[20]
Basketball
Bodybuilding
Sri Lankan Bodybuilding is a relatively newer sport. But the likes of Lucion Pushparaj, has pushed the sport to the global stage, having competed in the Mr Olympia.
Powerlifting
Several Sri Lankan powerlifters, both men and women, have managed to excel and push the sport to international levels. In 2021, six Sri Lankan powerlifting won 14 gold medals in the Asian Classic Equipped Bench Press and Powerlifting Championships held in Istanbul, Turkey.[21]
Racing
The Sri Lanka Association of Racing Drivers and Riders (SLARDAR) is the pioneer Motor Sports Association of Sri Lanka. There are several main racing events organized in Sri Lanka throughout the year like Fox Hill Supercross, Commando Supercross, Gajaba Supercross. Most of the racing events are organized by SLARDAR and Sri Lanka Armed Forces.
Dilantha Malagamuwa is a Sri Lankan racing driver who is representing Sri Lanka at the international level. He is racing for the Dilango Racing which is the first International motor racing team in Sri Lanka. Dilantha Malagamuwa is the champion of 2010 and 2016 GT Asia Series. He represents Sri Lanka in several major international level series like 2002 Bathurst 24 Hour, Asian Le Mans Series and Lamborghini Super Trofeo.
Individual sports
Rowing
Carrom
Athletics
Golf
Swimming
Tennis
Yachting
Table Tennis
Taekwondo
Other popular individual sports
References
- ^ Sports
- ^ "The Island". www.island.lk. Archived from the original on 19 June 2015.
- ^ "Sri Lanka Sports since Independence". 2 February 2018.
- ^ Selvey, Mike (18 March 1996). "Sri Lanka light up the world". The Guardian. London. Retrieved 30 August 2009.
- . Retrieved 30 August 2009.
- ^ Sam Sheringham (2 April 2011). "India power past Sri Lanka to Cricket World Cup triumph". BBC. Retrieved 3 April 2011.
- ^ "Traditional Outdoor Games You Can Play This Avurudu Season".
- ^ Sri Lanka development gateway, Sports
- ^ "Sri Lanka suspended by ICC for government interference". 10 November 2023.
- ^ a b c d e f g Sri Lanka Netball 2010
- ^ All England Netball Association, p. 31
- ^ a b International Federation of Netball Associations 2008
- ^ International Federation of Netball Associations 2011a
- ^ ISBN 1-86200-013-1) p74
- ^ "Sri Lanka Rugby Football Union". Archived from the original on 6 June 2009. Retrieved 6 June 2009.
- ^ McLaren, Bill A Visit to Hong Kong in Starmer-Smith, Nigel & Robertson, Ian (eds) The Whitbread Rugby World '90 (Lennard Books, 1989), p 70
- ^ "Sri Lanka". Aussie Rules International. Archived from the original on 8 July 2011. Retrieved 4 July 2011.
- ^ Nugent, Ash. "Sri Lankan MP agrees to support Australian Football". World Footy News. Retrieved 4 July 2011.
- ^ Amit, Naushad (20 November 2011). "American football arrives in the island". Sunday Times (Sri Lanka). Retrieved 11 December 2011.
- ^ "History". SLABSA. Retrieved 4 July 2011.
- ^ "Sri Lankan powerlifters bag 14 gold medals in Asian Championship". 29 December 2021.
- ^ "Dilantha and Armaan win Pro Am title". Daily Mirror. 7 December 2016. Archived from the original on 2 November 2021. Retrieved 8 July 2023 – via PressReader.