Sports
Niluka announces retirement
Sri Lanka’s most accomplished shuttle star Niluka Karunaratne officially announced his retirement from international competitive badminton representing Sri Lanka on Sunday while representing the country at a forum in the International Olympic Committee (IOC) headquarters.
It heralds the end of an era that began more than two decades ago driven by an insatiable appetite for success at domestic and international level with a never-say-die attitude to attempt what seemed impossible in his quest to bring glory to Sri Lanka.
“I have represented my country very actively, consistently and continuously for 22 years. I have conducted myself with lot of discipline, lot of courage and lot of passion. My passion was to represent my country,” a communique issued on his behalf quoted him as having said. NIluka represented Sri Lanka National Team as a 15-yearold in the Asian Badminton Championship in Jakarta, Indonesia in 2000.
His phenomenal achievements of being a 17-time national champion, three-time Olympian and winning 34 international medals is the legacy of his unwavering determination, dedication and discipline he adhered to like a religion during his career.
It is difficult for someone who has a passion and temperament for the sport of badminton to hang up his racquet for good. “I have been contemplating this for some time. There are lot of young athletes coming up. Even though I am eager and have the passion to continue, it’s my responsibility and time to hand over to the next generation and following generations to prepare. If we can do that now, we can have better players than me in upcoming years,” said Niluka.
He had already quit playing local competitions after bagging his 17th national title two years ago. The 38-year-old played his last international tournament in Lisbon, Portugal in February this year.
“I will be very much involved in the development of badminton and also all sports in Sri Lanka. Having worked hard before as an athlete for myself to represent my country, I’m motivated and eager to serve my country in a different way to develop the next generation of athletes to represent the country to compete internationally, give them exposure and bring glory to Sri Lanka. That is my utmost aim and ambition,” said Niluka who is full of energy to begin a new journey after waging fierce battles on court.
Niluka had been playing since the age of eight but it was in the year 2000 that a 15-year-old showed great character and courage to become a future legend of the sport.
The defining moment of his career took place when he was undergoing residential training for two weeks at the Maitland Place headquarter of the Sri Lanka Badminton Association for a tournament in the Maldives. “Every day the coach was saying we can beat everyone but not India. I was at Royal and not living in Colombo but coming from Balapitiya. I was shocked because I was brought up in a surrounding where parents taught me nothing is impossible. I never heard the word I can’t. My father was not in the country to get advice,” recalled Niluka.
The girls in the squad chided him when they saw him in tears for several days after practice and brought it to the notice of SLBA officials. “If we can’t win, I’m not going to take part or go on the tour,” an emotionally charged Niluka told them. He was assured by then SLBA president Eraj Wijesinghe who gave him all encouragement while the coach was admonished for demotivating the players instead of training players to win.
Looking back with pride at his stance when he was just 15, Niluka said he became motivated by the positive approach of Eraj Wijesinghe. Niluka went on to win three gold medals on his international debut at the South Asian Junior (Under 16) tournament and the rest as they say is ‘history’.
The highlight of his career was leading Sri Lanka at the 2012 London Olympics, the first Royalist and only badminton player to do so. He beat Japan’s number one and world ranked number eight in the first round to be among the top 16 players. He has won five gold medals in all five continents.
His first international final was on November 6, 2003 on his father Louie Karunaratne’s birthday. “He has been my coach and my inspiration. I started because of him only,” said Niluka of his father who has played badminton, first class cricket and was also a swimmer.
“It’s been a hell of a journey. People think I have been there for a long time. It is because I achieved a lot at a very young age. Then you will be there for a long time,” he said. (Media Release)
The first truly heavyweight clash of this expanded T20 World Cup format comes freighted with both history and subplots. A rematch of the 2010 World T20 final at Kensington Oval, the match pits Jos Buttler’s defending champions – who are aiming to become the first team to retain the trophy – against the Australian winning machine, victors at the 2021 edition and current world title-holders in Test and ODI cricket. And that’s before you throw in the Ashes for afters.
Already there is added pressure on England, after the rain in Bridgetown led to a share of the points in their opener against Scotland (and that having conceded 90 runs from 10 overs without taking a wicket in a tepid bowling display). Lose to their oldest rivals and it will leave their Super 8 prospects open to being waylaid by the perils of net run-rate calculations, or worse.
The Scotland match was the third abandonment in five suffered by England, after a rain-affected home series against Pakistan, which has clearly hampered their readiness for this campaign after almost six months without playing T20 together. It does not take much for a side to click in this format – and England looked in decent shape when they did get on the field against Pakistan – but Buttler will be anxious for things to go their way on Saturday, if only to avoid further questions referencing the team’s disastrous ODI World Cup defence last year.
Australia, under the laidback leadership of Mitchell Marsh would love nothing more than to add to the English sense of jeopardy – having helped bundle them out of the tournament in India on the way to taking the crown. Their head to head record is less impressive in T20 however, with England having won six of the last seven completed encounters, as well as that 2010 final.
Despite a wobble with the bat, Australia avoided mishap against Oman earlier in the week, the experience of David Warner and Marcus Stoinis shining through in difficult batting conditions. Surfaces in the Caribbean – not to mention those games staged in the USA – have already had teams scratching their heads; rather than the “slug-fest” England had prepared for, following a high-scoring tour of the Caribbean in December, it looks as if boxing smart may be the way to go.
Speaking of Warner, this could be the last time he faces up against England in national colours – and another match-winning contribution would likely reduce the chances of them meeting again in the knockouts. On the other side of the card is Jofra Archer, fresh from an emotional maiden outing at Kensington Oval and ready to take on Australia for the first time in any format since 2020. Can Mark Wood fire up England’s campaign, as he did during last summer’s Ashes? Will Pat Cummins be back to harass the old enemy once again? Seconds out, it’s almost time to rumble.
Cummins is set to return after being rested for the Oman game, which saw Mitchell Starc leave the field with cramp. Starc is understood to be fine and could keep his place – which would likely see Nathan Ellis miss out. Marsh is still not fit to bowl, with Australia likely to continue with the allrounder combination of Stoinis and Maxwell to give them cover.
Australia (probable XI): David Warner, Travis Head, Mitchell Marsh (capt), Glenn Maxwell, Marcus Stoinis, Josh Inglis (wk), Tim David, Pat Cummins, Nathan Ellis/Mitchell Starc, Adam Zampa, Josh Hazlewood
The one change England may consider is Reece Topley coming in for Wood, with the expectation that there will be some rotation among the seamers through the course of the tournament.
England (probable XI): Phil Salt, Jos Buttler (capt & wk), Will Jacks, Jonny Bairstow, Harry Brook, Liam Livingstone, Moeen Ali, Chris Jordan, Jofra Archer, Adil Rashid, Reece Topley/Mark Wood
[Cricinfo]
Once is coincidence, twice is a clue, and three times is proof.
To paraphrase Agatha Christie, that is the narrative around South Africa’s meeting with Netherlands at this T20 World Cup.
The Dutch beat South Africa at the 2022 tournament and ended their semi-final hopes in a match where South Africa appeared to be sleep walking, and then beat them again at the 2023 ODI World Cup, where they exposed South Africa’s vulnerability in the chase. If they to do the treble, not only will Netherlands take the lead in Group D, but they will offer conclusive evidence of the threat they pose to Full Members, especially South Africa.
Of course, it will take some doing after South Africa’s opening performance against Sri Lanka, where they reduced their opposition to their lowest T20I total and chased it down in fairly straightforward fashion thanks to the most stable middle-order of their white-ball era. In Aiden Markram, Tristan Stubbs, Heinrich Klaasen and David Miller, South Africa have bankers and big-hitters and, for this match, they also have the advantage of experience. They’ve already played at Eisenhower Park, and have first-hand knowledge that run-scoring doesn’t come easily;Klassen said they are prepared to use their “cricket brains” and play “smarter cricket”.
But the conditions could be good news for Netherlands, who are not naturally a line-up of big hitters and build their innings on a foundation of turning ones into twos. In other words, they tend to take a slightly more conservative approach to batting, which may work well here, but they’ll be wary of the uneven bounce of the surface and will have to come up with plans to counterattack especially against South Africa’s seamers. Their own bowlers were exemplary in Dallas and will look to build on that performance against a line-up that will likely be more proactive than Nepal’s, but who they have managed to keep quiet not once, but twice in the past. Third time’s the charm, they say.
Anrich Nortje’s stunning return to form against Sri Lanka means South Africa may not have to tinker with the bowling combination, and Gerald Coetzee and Tabraiz Shamsi may have to wait their turns to get a game. The batting line-up should be unchanged, with no space for Ryan Rickelton yet.
South Africa: Quinton de Kock (wk), Reeza Hendricks, Aiden Markam, Tristan Stubbs, Heinrich Klaasen (wk), David Miller, Marco Jansen, Keshav Maharaj, Kagiso Rabada, Ottneil Baartman, Anrich Nortje
Conditions in New York may tempt Netherlands to include an extra seamer and they have Kyle Klein in their squad. But it could come at the expense of a shortened batting line-up and they may not want to risk that.
Netherlands: Michael Levitt, Max O’Dowd, Vikramjit Singh, Sybrand Engelbrecht, Scott Edwards (capt, wk), Bas de Leede, Teja Nidamanuru, Logan van Beek, Tim Pringle, Paul van Meekeren, Vivian Kingma
[Cricinfo]
Nuwan Thushara’s last over brought Sri Lanka screaming back into the match,as he first bowled Rishad Hossain, and then nailed Taskin Ahmed in front of the stumps with a pinpoint swinging yorker. This left Bangladesh eight wickets down, with 12 runs still to get.
However, the experienced Mahmudullah was at the crease for Bangladesh, and despite some further nervy moments, pushed Bangladesh across the line off the last ball of the 19th over.
But this was a match chiefly decided by Bangladesh’s own outstanding bowling. Mustafizur Rahman was the best among them, using shorter lengths and his cutters efficiently, to claim figures of 3 for 17. Rishad Hossain’s three-for through the middle overs also kept Sri Lanka quiet.
Mustafizur was instrumental in Sri Lanka’s downward spiral through the middle overs, which culminated in a crash-and-burn end. Ultimately, their inability to find boundaries, or even rotate strike against good Bangladesh bowling resulted in their downfall. A score of 125 for 9 always seemed poor on a decent pitch, even if their bowlers made a match of it in the end.
Brief scores:
Bangladesh 125 for 8 in 19 overs (Towhid Hridoy 40, Litton Das 36; Dhanajaya de Silva 1-11, Nuwan Thushara 4-18, Wanidu Hasaranga 2-32, Matheesha Pathirana 1-27) beat Sri Lanka124 for 9 in 20 overs (Pathum Nissanka 47, Dhananjaya de Silva 21; Tanzim Hasan Sakib 1-24, Taskin Ahmed 2-25, Mustafizur Rahman 3-17, Rishad Hossain 3-22) by two wickets
[Cricinfo]
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