Sports

 

Gen. Daluwatte strikes the best nett round
Golf in the "A" Category was mediocre and all the usual star performers blamed the weather and while we agree that the weather was a trifle unkind we must emphasize that one cannot always be fair weather golfers. Nirmal Hettiarachchi strong off the tee was the best with a one over par nett 72 with Alain Gyi one stroke behind with nett 73. Hettiarachchi takes the elegant Energizer Trophy.

B. Division
Joseph Sebhatu Sarath Wickremaratne battled in strong contest. Sebhatu quite new to the scene was quite impressive playing off 15 he struck a well calculated gross 83 nett 68 to tie with Wickremaratne who played off 13 in commendable style. In the count back Sebhatu was judged the winner with a better back nine. Wickremaratne a tremendous sportsman showed no regrets.

There were ten smashing centuries and the most scintillating crashed off the club heads of H.A. Herath. Ken Sellayah, Bundala Weerasinghe and surprisingly David Gyi contributed to small packets of confetti with little energy.

Absolute General
Rohan Daluwatte moved away from the rigors of battles and war to match with milder and more pleasant opponents. He is beginning to master the art and in the last outing he held the Ridgeways in complete command to take victory with only 24 strokes.
He beat par by 6 strokes and also his formidable opponent Anura Gunasekera who finished superbly but not good enough for Daluwatte's nett 65. Gunasekera was 2 strokes behind.

Centuries
17 golfers took 2088 strokes to complete the course averaging 122 each which must have given each of them much amusement and also much resolve. Stanley Almeida was outstanding with 124 strokes studded with hooks, slices and some massive earth mover.

10 golfers packed up early at different times and they all agreed to contribute lavishly to the season's requirements of confetti. Almeida in the Secretariat together with the girls in the office have formed a packers Committee with decorative ideas.
The Seniors event was one big helluva mess and a wag was heard to call it a "mallung". 5 competed of which 4 decided to gift confetti and tore up their cards early after a collection of messy shots. Norman Chandraratne became the uncontested winner with a 4 over par nett 75. The same wag called it a "one horse race with no jockey".

Masters
Sarath Wickremaratne was amply compensated in the Masters Division when his excellent round of nett 68 was judged the best and he richly deserved the Energizer Award. Joe Boy Perera came from behind trailing by nine strokers.

The weather was unkind as the morning started but approaching mid-day the dark clouds moved away to give way to gorgeous sunshine and an extremely pleasant 19th hole. Energizer Lanka Ltd. sponsored the May Medal rounds and they were exceedingly lavish.

Motor racing drama of 'Power with Colour'
By Annesley Ferreira
As the curtain came down on the April Season, widely regarded as the 'excitement scene' in the Motor Racing Calendar, one team stands out and demands a second glance. This is the Mobil-Autocolor Team created by the Universal Aura of Mobil and the breathtaking beauty of CIC-Autocolor.

These two companies have collaborated to give Motor Racing a fillup or more aptly, the drama of 'Power with Colour' by taking under their care, a team that has remained one of the more passionate ensembles in local racing.

When Rohan de Silva started tinkering away in a Fiat Miafiori as far back as1970, little did he realize that it could result in a team such as what we behold today. Joining hands with Trevor Reckerman, one of the foremost sports administrators in the country, who returned to Sri Lanka, to head The ExxonMobil local operation. Rohan has slowly but surely developed a team that is hard to beat. And to add finesse to this partnership comes the evergreen Bri, a technical virtuoso who has given the team the stability and reliability it needed.

Arriving on cue, is the formidable Gerald de Saram of CIC, who has decidedly added colour, if not a powerful shove, to this spirited team. Why spirited you may ask? Because, not for them the big names, or the fly by nighters, but a dedicated close-knit team that thrives on defeat and returns again and again for the challenge and the thrill of racing.

Take Rohan. He drives every meet, big or small, gravel or tarmac, night or day, because apart from running a dynamic conglomerate, it is always a burning desire to be behind the wheel. Not much has been written about Romani,but motor racing experts class him among the best. He squeezes out of a makeshift Pulsar, enough energy to stay glued to the Evo 7 and drives with a panache that is reminiscent of Juan Paolo Montoyo. In Shehara you have a lady with the steely determination of a born competitor. Making no distinction when at the wheel, she takes on the guys........... no quarter and driving a tight line that makes the turks whimper. And so it is with rest. No big fuss, but always a tough stance and a determined drive.

Wake up call indeed for all other teams. For Caltex in particular, with all the hype of big-name driver's, expensive hardware and unlimited budgets, the power of staying ahead is going to be infinitely more difficult. With Dinesh Deheragoda in his Mitsubishi thoroughbreds holding his own in the superclass, teams like Caltex are suddenly realizing that power and class are two different things.


Annual cricket encounter for Dina Cup
Sri Lanka Cricket Club, a cricket team comprising Sri Lankans domiciled in Switzerland, was in the island recently, playing a series of matches against local clubs. The highlight of the two-week long tour was an encounter with the Sri Lanka Customs Cricket Club on May 3 for the Dina Cup, named after a Sri Lankan enterprise.

The limited over match played at the Premadasa International Stadium ended in no decision due to rain. Among those invited to witness the match were former Sri Lanka wicketkeeper-batsman Romesh Kaluwitharana and ex-Sri Lanka captain Bandula Warnapura. The match was officiated by ICC umpire Asoka de Silva and Sena Nandaweera. Acting Police Chief T. E. Anandaraja was the chief guest.

Dina Enterprises proprietor S. I. M. Akram, a Sri Lankan domiciled in Switzerland, said the match against the Sri Lankan Customs would be an annual event.
He said cricket in Switzerland was largely played by South Asian expatriates but Swiss nationals were showing an increasing interest in the game.


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