Sports
Yupun’s rise calls for top grade competitions for deserving athletes
by Reemus Fernando
National men’s 100 metres record holder Yupun Abeykoon climbed to the 40th position in the world rankings after the World Athletics updated the event rankings last week. Despite finishing ninth at the last Diamond League final in Zurich (September 9), the Italy based sprinter has climbed five places up in the world rankings highlighting the importance of participating in top grade competitions. What has helped Abeykoon maintain a world rank above 50 in a highly competitive track and field discipline is something that country’s sports authorities should study seriously as there are at least half a dozen others who could emulate him in other disciplines in athletics if they are given similar exposure.
To begin with, the credit for Yupun’s improvement and the laudable world ranking position should be given to his team in Italy. They had prepared the ground work for him to take part in competitions in Europe. Systematic training and top-grade competitions was the key for him to improve on his world rankings. That enabled him to represent Sri Lanka at the Tokyo Olympics.
Yupun broke into the top 100 in the world only in late May. He clocked 10.15 seconds at the Centro Sportivo Fontanassa, Savona, Italy. On May 31st he was ranked 79th and by late June he was occupying a position in the top 50 (49). It took only one good performance at a top-grade competition for him to break in to the top 50. On June 10th, Yupun clocked 10.16 to be placed fourth at the Golden Gala Pietro Mennea. That feat earned him 1292 points and secured his ticket to the Olympics. By late July Yupun was ranked 54th but after the Diamond League final in Zurich where he was placed ninth Yupun moved up again.
He has overtaken Japan’s Ryota Yamagata, France’s Jimmy Vicaut, Slovakia’s Jan Volko, China’s Zhiqiang Wu and USA’s Chris Royster and Christopher Belcher to be ranked 40th in the world, a position that would auger well for him ahead of a World Championship year.
It was not only the impressive performances that have helped the 26-year-old secure a top position in world rankings but also the grade of the competitions where he executed them.
Gone are the days when you could punch your ticket to the Olympics and World Championships with sheer speed or top performances. The latest qualifying system introduced for such events require athletes to perform consistently at top grade competitions and reach top world rankings to qualify for events. The World Ranking system arguably favours the athletes competing in the European circuit and athletes taking part in competitions like the Diamond League. For an example, in the pandemic plagued season there had been 90 athletes who had produced faster times than Yupun in the world in men’s 100 metres but the latter was able secure a higher ranking by the end of the season as he had produced his most impressive performances at competitions which guarantee higher points.
By the last weekend, Japan’s Ryota Yamagata, who is one of only two Asians to have produced sub 10 seconds this season was ranked 41st, , one point behind Yupun. And two compatriots of Yamagata who are yet to clock sub 10 seconds this season have much higher world ranks of 24 (Shuhei Tada) and 36 (Yoshihide Kiryu).
Yupun’s impressive rise has given enough evidence to prove that country’s top athletes could benefit if they are exposed to top grade competitions. However, it is easier said than done. Just prior to the Olympics Sri Lanka Athletics struggled to find top competitions for country’s Olympic hopefuls. By May, the US based high jumper Ushan Thivanka was on the cusps of earning an Olympic berth with a remarkable personal best of 2.30 metres. Sri Lanka Athletics’ attempts to find him a berth in a Diamond League competition in a bid to get him qualified for Olympics found futile as the Diamond League competitions the governing body was looking for ‘were already overbooked’.
The world has seen only 25 athletes going over the bar at 2.30 metres or above this year in the men’s high jump. Thivanka is one of them. He was so good this season that he could have finished joint eighth at the Olympics with his best feat (which was in May-2.30m) had he been selected for the quadrennial event on merit of his 2.30 metres produced in May. The World Athletics qualifying system has frowned on many such athletes who could not compete at top grade competitions to improve their rankings.
It is incumbent upon World Athletics to provide equal opportunities for athletes of all regions in the world to gain top competition exposure while local authorities need to get their act together to lobby for top competitions for their athletes. The likes of Nilani Ratnayake (steeplechase), Nadeesha Ramanayake (400m), Nimali Liyanarachchi (800m) and Dilshi Kumarasinghe (800m, 400m) in the women’s category, sprinters Kalinga Kumarage and Aruna Dharshana, throwers, Sumedha Ranasinghe and Waruna Lakshan and Ushan Thivanka in the men’s category and several other athletes were craving for top competitions to improve their rankings ahead of the Olympics. They will be heading for the same predicament ahead of World Championships in 2022 if authorities fail to find answers to the problems they faced ahead of Olympics.
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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