In top gear

Tennis fell two years ago when Sri Lanka were relegated to lower level of the Davis Cup.

By Channaka de Silva

For some years now, Sri Lanka's tennis has been experiencing a dangerous downward trend.

As anybody who knew the tennis set-up of the country could say, the game fell from the frying pan to the fire two years ago when Sri Lanka were relegated to another level of the Davis Cup.

With no prospective world beaters coming out of the elementary tennis machinery at school level, and the level of current player-standard increasingly overtaken by the other countries, tennis was a dying game in this country.

Tennis, though had not reached world class here, it enjoyed a certain standard and as recently as in 1991, Umesh Walloopillai won the South Asian Federation (SAF) Games singles Gold Medal which underlined at least a regional prominence. From 1989 to 1994, Sri Lanka managed to enter the semi finals of the Davis Cup Asia-Oceania Zone Group II, which meant that the Lankans were capable of maintaining their position steadily in the world rankings, though it was not very high.

But as standards fell, the obvious happened. In 1996, Sri Lanka lost 1-4 to Iran in a tie which was played at Tehran and were forced to play a relegation tie against Malaysia. They had escaped several similar situations in the past but lost that tie in Kuala Lumpur which resulted in a humiliating walk-down to the Asia Oceania Group III. What more disappointing debacle could hit Sri Lanka's tennis?

Things turned to worse in 1997 when Sri Lanka lost to Qatar and Pacific Oceania in the Group III ties played at Qatar. They were in the danger of slipping further down to Group IV, but saved face by the skin of their teeth, defeating Bangladesh in the relegation tie.

But things began to change again for the good. After playing two years in the Group III, Sri Lanka finally won their place back again in Group II with victory in 1998 at the Group III tournament played in Malaysia.

They beat Singapore and Syria in the group matches and then beat hosts Malaysia in the promotion match to come back into the Group II.

The pressure was only building up. Now that they entered Group II, the task was to remain there. Sri Lanka Tennis Association (SLTA), as many observers pointed out, was doing little as the problems mounted but the attitude started changing lately.

Aruna Seneviratne, himself a former Davis Cup player was appointed the Manager of the Team and a pool named by the National Selectors began training with December's Asian Games in Thailand and the first Davis Cup fixture on February 12 to 14, 1999 against Iran as its immediate targets.

Sri Lanka's Number One and Two players Jayendra Wijesekara and Rohan de Silva along with Asiri Iddamalgoda, Lahiru Jayasuriya, Basitha Kariyawasam, Renouk Wijemanne and Sanjay Paramanathan were drafted into this pool.

Based currently in other countries, other prospective Sri Lankans such as Rajiv Rajapakse, Manjula Weerakoon, Isuru Gunasekara, Genuan Gunawardena, Vanaka Gunawardena and Chandraguptha Soysa were also invited to join the pool but most of them will only be available for the Davis Cup and not for the Asian Games, as sources indicated.

Two weeks ago, SLTA took another progressive step towards improving the standards when they signed internationally renowned Sri Lankan coach George Paldano, a man who has seen the Sri Lanka team perform well under him previously. Paldano's contract as the head coach of SLTA's tennis programme will also see him doing duty with the national team.

Umesh Walloopillai, who set a world record as the youngest player ever to win a Davis Cup match when he won a match at the age of 15, was one of the best players coached by Paldano during an illustrious career.

Since his last coaching stint with the National team some ten years ago, Paldano went back to Germany where he had been coaching earlier as well, and spent the last four and a half years as the head coach of Brunei.

Paldano was however employed by chance. "ITF (International Tennis Federation) area rep Suresh Mennon who was in Malaysia informed us that George's contract in Brunei was about to expire and asked us why we don't contact him. That was how we got in touch with him" Seneviratne revealed.

Paldano is confident that the present lot has all the ingredients for a successful Davis Cup campaign. "They are good, and since the tie is played here, we have a good chance of winning" Paldano said.

The tie would be played in Colombo at the SLTA's clay courts and when the two teams last met at the venue in 1994, Sri Lanka emerged victorious by a margin of 3-2.

Paldano said Iranians are coming from their winter which he said was very cold and pointed out that they might have a difficulty in adjusting to Colombo's heat quickly. "They have extremely cold winters and extremely hot summers. Last time they played here, they lost and when we played them there (1996) they won" Paldano elaborated.

If Sri Lanka wins the tie, then they will play the winner of the Thailand vs. Kazakhstan tie.

All the youngsters are regularly training in the evenings under the watchful eye of Paldano at the National Tennis Centre while National Champion Jayendra Wijesekara flew to Florida, United States to take part in some tournaments to get match practice, as there was hardly any competition for him to sharpen his skills. After three weeks he is expected to join the rest of the squad while Rohan de Silva practices separately at SSC under lights due to his heavy work schedule.

"We have two very good, experienced players. I think we stand a good chance" said Paldano.

Seneviratne said there was an air of confidence and enthusiasm among the top players going into the Davis Cup, which he cited as the result of several reasons.

"The SLTA did not treat the players the way they should have been treated. They were not flexible. Now there is more recognition to them. They feel like they are wanted. For example, Rohan finds it difficult to fit into the normal training schedule as he has work commitments. Then we made arrangements for him to practice at SSC under lights. Earlier things were different." Seneviratne explained. The effects of ignorance of the officialdom had already created its damage and the changes has come in the nick of the time according to him.

Both Seneviratne and Paldano saw absence of professional tennis players and the failure of tennis to acquire the status of a spectator sport as the main drawbacks tennis in Sri Lanka faced.

"Almost all other countries in the region have circuits which offer substantial prize money and there is a number of professionals who make a living out of it. They play, practice and live with tennis virtually for 24 hours a day. Our players do it only as a part time recreation. But at the international stage, they have to match the professionals." was how Paldano put the problem in a nutshell.

Seneviratne said they also paid the players money earned from the Davis Cup such as appearance fee and prize money, but he said it was not a an amount big enough to make them professionals.

Paldano described tennis as a sport with a good chance for the Sri Lankans to win. "We won't have a chance in body contact sports or other sports which gives an advantage for height or weight. But tennis is more a skill oriented game like cricket and we have good chance of succeeding" he said.

Saying that the game needed to be broadbased to feed the national level with talent from outstations as well, Paldano said he has already formulated a coaching curriculum to promote the game island wide. Another remedial action suggested is to send players to play in the Indian junior circuit.

Cricket

With Ranil Abeynaike

Arjuna's gem of an innings

Shortly after darkness had set in last Monday evening many Sri Lankan cricket fans were feeling deflated at the situation in Dhaka. Having dismissed New Zealand for 189 the World Cup holders were five runs for three wickets. Had the mini World Cup slipped from their grasp? Many finger nails were being bitten, many sat on the edge of their seats, many turned their heads away from the action, many cursed the dismissals of Sanath, Marvan, Aravinda and many more pushed down alcoholic beverage to calm the nerves! Yes, the whole atmosphere was absolutely tense when Arjuna Ranatunga walked into bat.

People wonder what it feels in such a situation, when its like being thrown into a lions' den. Certainly not the place for the faint hearted or those who lack supreme self-confidence in their chosen profession. It is the arena for the tough. From almost the very first time that Ranatunga stepped into the international scene in 1982 he has faced such battles. However, experience reveals that each occasion has its own various difficulties.

There were some cricketing odds stacked against a Ranatunga big score. He hadn't had a match innings since the Oval on August 29. Nearly two months and that is an awfully long time. The team's outdoor practice before this tour was very much hampered by rain. No batting under lights against the white ball for a very long time - and that is a big handicap. Add the mental pressure of his men tottering against the unfancied Kiwis, in a competition where a loss means curtains. It was not easy stuff. But then, that's where the man revels.

Television pictures these days show the features of a player so clearly that it often tells the story of how a player feels. In those early overs Arjuna's face showed concern, even a hint of worry and why not? He talked regularly to his partner Romesh Kaluwitharane. There would have been words of advice and encouragement offered, but more than anything, "bat on and not give the wicket away."

Then, in my opinion, came the turning point. Simon Doull who had picked up two wickets in three overs was taken off from the attack. I thought then that the hot humid conditions may have somewhat drained him. Skipper Flemming said otherwise at the post-match interview. He wanted to switch his bowlers around. It was a switch that favoured the opposition. The replacement was the left arm spinner Vettori and the left handed batsman is most at home facing such deliveries. He must have chuckled within at the change.

Still, a lot of hard work had to be done. So the pushing and the nudging began. The pair ran between wickets splendidly. Kaluwitharane was cautious. The Captain with his tons of experience played each delivery on its merits and maintained a very steady run rate. That made matters difficult for the Kiwis. They couldn't push the Sri Lankans back on the run rate. This meant they needed to get wickets. Flemming continued switching his bowlers. But now the game was gradually slipping away.

The heat and humidity in the air and the heat of the lights made Ranatunga's face glow with perspiration. His concentration did not falter even slightly. His mind was focused on playing that red blur aimed at him and keeping his partner going until the target was reached. As the three figure mark was notched the smiles of the afternoon returned to the faces of the Sri Lankan supporters. Those who doubted a while ago had now regained confidence in their team.

When Kaluwitharane departed all it needed was one more partnership for Sri Lanka to coast home. Young Upul Chandana helped his skipper do that. He played sensibly by pushing the single and dispatching the loose ball to the fence. It did not put pressure on Ranatunga who was determined to stay until the end. With less than a handful of runs to be scored, a boundary or six hit would have been a wonderful way to conclude the game. Arjuna would have certainly contemplated that in his younger days and perhaps done it too. Now, he was content on getting to the winning post, and that his team and he did.

Any amount of praise was deserving for that Arjuna Ranatunga innings. Perhaps Martin Crowe in his chat with Tony Greig summed it up best, by saying, "If he plays for another five years he'll win many tournaments for Sri Lanka."

Strength and grace

By Saif Izzadeen

It was a breathtaking display. Gymnasts from the outstations twisted and curled themselves and gave a fantastic performance coupled with strength and grace to dominate the National Gymnastic Novices Championships at the Sugathadasa Indoor Stadium.

It was encouraging to see competitors from places such as Polonnarauwa, Anuradahapura, Galle, Matara and many other rural areas taking part in the event.

These gymnasts from the rural areas who don't have the basic facilities to practice the sport performed creditably and outshone participants who were better prepared.

Many participants were of the opinion that if they were provided the correct facilities, they could perform much better.

An official from an outstation club said: "There is lot of talent and potential among the competitors If they are looked after well and taken on the right path we should be able to produce world class gymnasts".

The aim

Padama Gunawardena, the organizer of the event said: "This competition is mostly open for participants who are in the intermediate standard". When asked about the aim of this contest, she said: "The gymnasts who come in the first two places in each event are drafted into the junior gymnastic pool for training and are then sent to take part in international events.

Asked if this is achieved at any stage, she said: "Of course. In the two days of competition we have had, there were many gymnasts who showed great potential.We are hoping to groom them now it self which will give them the necessary confidence. We want them in the big league".

Champions

The men's competition was won by the Gampaha District Gymnastic society with 21 points. The runners-up position went to Southern Province Gymnastic Club who scored 11 points.

In the girl's tournament Sussex Sports Club were the champions with 16 points while Southern Province Gymnastic Club took second position with 10 points.

At the end of the event, the outstanding performer in the boy's event was Amith Rayan Fernando of the Gampaha District Gymnastic Society.

in the women's event the most oustanding performer's award went to Chalini Wanniarachchi from the Sussex Gymnastic Club. This competition was held among girls and boys. There were six events for men and four events for girls. The competition produced many outstanding performances.

Boys events

In the men's events, the first place in the floor exercises went to Edward Joe Christopher from Sussex Sports Club. Second place went to S. Milinda of the Gampaha District Gymnastic Association with Dominic Gayan of the Gampaha District Gymnastic Association coming in third.

In the Roman Rings event Gelshan Piyumpathi and Dominic Gayan from the Gampaha District gymnastic association shared first and second places respectively. The third place went to Edward Joe Christopher from the Sussex Sports Club.

Amith Rayan Fernando from the Gampaha District Gymnastic association came in first in the pomnmel hose event with second and third places going to Nuwan Chamara(Sourthern Province Gymnastic association) and Suraj Chandana(Sussex Gymnastic association) respectively.

Prassana Wickremanayake of the Kurunegala gymnastic association took the top spot in the Parallen bar event. Nuwan Chamara (Sourthern province Gymnastc association) and Suraj Chandana (sussex Gymnastic association) shared second and third placess respectively.

Himesh Ranga of the sourthren province gymnastic association came in first in the Horizontal Bar with second and third placess going to Bagaya Rajapaske (Cambrian Sports club) and Nuwan Chamara( Sourthern Province Gymnastic socity) respectively.

In the long horse event Tushara Priyangith of the Schools Gymnastic association came in first. Amith Rayan Fernando and Gelshan Piyumpathi from the Gampaha district Gymnastic association came in second and third placees respectively.

Results of the girls events

In the un even bar event Maduka Sadamali from the Sourthren province Gymnastic club came in first. The second place went to Chalani Upendra of the Sussex gymnastic association with third place going to Metilda Daniel of the Gampaha District gymnastic association.

Saumaya Kaluarachchi from the Southren province gymnastic club came in first in the side horse event the second and third placess went to Prashanthi Preumal(sussex Gymnastic association) and Chamila Priyadarshani(Sourthern Province Gymnastic association) respectively.

In the floor execrise event Amila Wijeratne of the Friends Sports club came iun first.

Dushanthi Preumal and Chalini Wanniarachchi of the Sussex Gymnastic socity came in second and thrid placees respectively.

In the balance beam event Chalini Wanniarachchi of the sussex Gymnastic socity came in first. The Second place went to Takshila Mihirani of the Keggale Gymnastic association. Amali Abeyratne from the Friends gymnastic association came in third.

STC, a clean sweep

It was a clean sweep for S. Thomas' Mt. Lavinia and Ladies College Colombo as they won the boy's and girl's titles respectively at the eighth senior and junior waterpolo championships held at the Sugathadasa Stadium pool.

The story was the same in the under 15 event as well. In the senior boy's final S. Thomas' scored a 6-2 win over Royal and in the girl's final, Ladies' College beat Vishaka Vidyalaya 7-1. The Ladies College waterpolo team is coached by former Thomian rugby player Charya de Saram. Charya has worked hard to see that his lads took the plum.

Ladies College who came into the tournament without three of their regulars, played with perfect cohesion and didn't seem to feel the absence of their regulars. Their performance in the tournament was commendable.

Speaking to The Sunday Times, Nawaff Mubarak, the captain of the S. Thomas waterpolo team said:"It was a nice victory although we had to go through a rough time. I was confident of winning. It was a very happy moment when we heard the final whistle", said Nawaff when asked how he felt after the victory.

Mubarak went on to add: "All the players did their best at practices. This paid rich dividends. They were early at practice sessions and this made our job much easier".

"I saw that every player earned his position, as a result practice sessions were exciting and players had to fight very hard".

"As the captain I maintained strict discipiline and saw that players were not having a joy ride. They gave more than 100 percent at practices".

When asked weather there were enough teams in the competition, Mubarak said that all the teams which participated were strong. "But if more teams were in the fray, a comptetive tournament would have resulted", he pointed out

Nawaff Mubarak didn't forget to thank the parents of the players and the master in charge for swimming of the school for their dedication. The winning S.Thomas' team was sponsored by quality shoe distributors, Leather Point.

S. Thomas' have been dominating this competition from the very start, which was in 1991. They only missed out on one occasion, other than that it would have been blue, black and blue all the way. Even in the case of Ladies College it has been a one horse race. (SI)

Delano rewarded

Marlon S. Delano was richly rewarded for outstanding performances in sport when he was rewarded with the College Blues by St. Joseph's College at the Colours Award Ceremony held at the College Auditorium.

He missed being awarded the Sportsman Of The Year award.

Marlon's outstanding performance: First Josephian to swim the 6 mile sea swim; First Josephian and the youngest swimmer to win the 6 mile sea swim at the age of 13 years; First schoolboy swimmer to win sea swims for four consecutive years;

Participated at the S.A.F Games in Madras in 1995 winning a silver and two bronze medals, losing the Gold in 1500 metres by just 5 seconds;

Adjudged the best schoolboy swimmmer in 1995;

Won the Colombo two mile sea swim in 1996;

First schoolboy swimmer to break three records at the senior public schools meet in 1997 and sheet anchored the relay quartet in the record;

Holds six public records and four age group records and was awarded the Public Schools Colours.

Sobers: Sri Lanka needs more Tests

While the cricketing world debated Mark Taylor's decison of declaring the innings when he was 41 runs short of the highest Test individual score of 375 by Brian Lara, Sir Garfield Sobers observed: "It must have been a difficult decision to make. I think Taylor would have preferred somebody captaining him on the occasion. In a situation like that a lot of things would have to be taken into consideration. First of all, he put the team in front of his personal rewards which is good. I was very pleased to see that.

"As Taylor himself said. he wanted to win the Test and the series as Australia has never recorded a series victory in Pakistan. At that point, he obviously thought he had the attack to bowl out Pakistan twice on that wicket. He had to make the decision and it was a good one from the team's point of view," said Sir Gary, who held the record for the highest individual Test score (365 against Pakistan at Kingston in 1957-58) till Lara broke it.

Sir Gary is in Chennai on a coaching assignment with MAC Sports Foundation and took some time off for an exclusive chat.

Sir Gary said his stint as a coach for Sri Lanka in the 80s was a great experience.

"I had played in Sri Lanka on may occasions in the days when it was Ceylon. I played against many talented cricketers, though I never got to play against the great man, Satha (Sathasivam).

"But I saw one or two cricketers, who, had Sri Lanka been a Test nation, would have surely made the grade. So when I went there, I quite expected to see good talent and technique.

"What they needed was to be brain-washed about quick bowlers. Spin was not going to bother them too much. Their technique was good. I had to look at the finer aspects of the game which their coach would not have known, things which one gains by playing a lot of cricket at a certain level. These were things I helped them with.

"I had to make them understand that they were going into a world of fast bowlers and if they have to become a force to reckon with in the future they would have to learn to play fast bowling. And if they weren't prepared for it there was no sense in going, for that was what they were going to get.

"That was my job I thought, and I saw it as a very important role to play. I had to make them understand that this was what was going to happpen and try to talk them into learning how to play the quicks which they did.

"I am very pleased to see how they are playing today. they are really a team to reckon with now. I just like to see them play more Test cricket because I think it is unfair to have them play just one or two Test matches because they are such a good team and if they play more Test cricket they will certainly be a force to reckon with in Test cricket, too."

While talking about West Indies cricket, especially about the decline of the quick bowlers, Sobers said, "Nothing is going to last forever. You know, everyone talks about the decline in the quickies and all that. Not many know that we did not have quick bowlers like them before.

"We had L. R. Pierre and P. Jones in the late 40s and early 50s, and then Gilchrist. Hall and Griffith and so on in the late 50s and 60s. But years before that we had Jerry Gomez opening the bowling and Sir Frank Worrell.

"We did not have real fast bowlers in the 50s after Jones and Pierre till Hall and Griffith came into the scene. After that we did not have men of their pace. and all of a sudden from about 76-77, a string of fast bowlers came up.

"Not just fast bowlers, but express and they were far more quicker than Michael Holding and Roberts. There was Sylvester Clarke, who never played much Test cricket, Wayne Daniel, who did not play a lot, and there was this chap at home called Gregory Armstrong who I thought was as quick as any of them who never got a chance to play for the West Indies.

"So we had quite a lot of fast bowlers of express pace. They are the kind who don't come about every year. Just because we produced them during that period it does not mean we can produce them all the time. This is what people have to understand."

Sobers then spoke about modern cricket and what he perceived was the difference from his time. One then could not help but ask him who from the present team he thought would figure in his all time West Indian side.

"I prefer not to comment on that," he first said, and then continued. "I would say probably Brian Lara might get to play in there. But he too would be a bit dodgy because there were players of the calibre of Rohan Kanhai and Conrad Hunte.

"I would say gordon Greenidge or Des Haynes might have got in as an opening batsman. But we had players like Seymour Nurse, Kanhai and Basil Butcher down in that order. You can't have someone like Lara coming in at No. 7 or No 8. I mean he is a batsman. Players like Lara and Viv Richards would get into the team, but I won't say they would walk into it."

Professionalism, Sobers believes, has to do with the player himself. Not just playing but thinking about and understanding the game.

The discussion then touched upon South Africa and how he rated its players of his era. "It has always been difficult to rate South Africans in the true sense of rating them at the top level. Because the yardstick that is used to rate players by is Test cricket and unforutnately they never played enough Test cricket to be rated.

"But as players they were great cricketers. Barry Richards, Graeme Pollock, Peter Pollock, Mike Procter and Eddie Barlow were superb. It is a pity that they did not get the chances to show themselves as truly greats in the arena where it counted. On sheer talent and class, they were great. I think Barry, Graeme and Procter were great in the true sense of the word."

Speaking about the present South African side, Sir Gary opined that its good showing did not exactly come as a surprise to him.

"It was expected for it, has always been a good team. It had lot of good players. I believe its domestic cricket is very strong too.

"The South Africans are out to prove to the world. They are going about it in the right way. They do not have any real stars apart from Donald, Shaun Pollock, who has tremendous potential, and Jonty Rhodes as a fielder. They are a bunch of good players who play as a team, backing up each other, complementing and understading one another."

Sobers does not believe in making comparisons and that was exactly what he said when asked about Tendulkar and Lara.

"I don't like making comparisons between players. One day one is up and the other day one is down. It is so very difficult. But if the two are in top form and are going together at the same time it is very difficult to separate them.

"But people somehow seem to forget Aravinda de Silva, who I think is a very very good player. He does not have the opportunity to play much Test cricket. He is very straight, very correct and has learnt the importance of concentration. He is so much more solid than what he was earlier and is a very reliable player."

The topic moved over to Warne. "Warne is a big spinner, a big turner of the ball and is certainly among the best leg-spinners that I've seen. But Subash Gupte is the best leg-spinner I've ever played against." Sir Gary signed off.

-Sanjay Rajan

Readers Hit Out

Some have to die for others to live

How come the Ministry of sport has initiated and rewarded our cricketers with plots of land for their achievements in bringing credit to Mother Lanka? They should be lauded, but not with land when they are comfortably settled, with some of them living in mansions built around the suburbs. Today they are enjoying a favourable balance of payment unlike our past forgotten heroes be it cricketers or athletes. They are having fun and frolic on and off the field thanks to the great sacrifice made by our poor soldiers, who sacrificed their lives for the country. Some of them have gone, to the great beyond and their families live in abject poverty, with hardly any meaningful redress, running from pillar to post. Even those in the seats of power, too apparently have forgotten them after attending their funerals with a view to gain political mileage. How much have our sportsmen contributed either to the defence or rehablilitation funds?They only buy things duty free to further fill their coffers with tax free cars etc. Seeing is believing - one has to go to the Army Headquarters or to the Panagoda Camp, where poor parents spend many hours in scorching heat with no redress, unless they are armed with political strings. True, one has to find one's own salvation, but not when one has to sacrifice his life for others to live in peace. The ongoing problems could be attributed due to landlessness, poverty and malnutrition. It makes matters worse when the needs of the poor soldiers etc, are ignored. It's time sanity prevailed and help the have-nots not the haves .Sportsmen live in laps of luxury. They should not be allowed to enjoy life at the expense of the poor weather beaten soliders.

D.C.A. Colombo10

Futile war

All Sri Lankans should be very proud of the achievements of our cricketers and athletes who brought glory and fame to Sri Lanka and the President has shown her gratitude by donating land to them. It is my opinion, that the presentation of a substantial sum of money to these honoured sportsmen and sportswomen would have been more beneficial to them. If money was gifted to them, they could have gainfully utilized it by investing in some reliable financial institute, which investment would accrue sufficient interest for their daily needs. Further donation of land to them would serve no purpose as most of the time, they are engaged in the field, training or participating in sports activities or in competitive cricket and thus they would have little or no time to devote any interest on their lands. Almost all the athletes and cricketers are now of some standing and they are very much better off than nonaffluent people. They will surely not need more houses to be put up in the lands presented to them. It is also my view, that top priority should be given by the State to the armed forces and the police who are now carrying out arduous and perilous duties in the battlefront to save Sri Lanka from going into the hands of the rebels who are fighting in the North and East of the country against the armed forces for a separate state. These men and women are sacrificing their lives for the benefit of the state. They have voluntarily come forward to fight the rebels at their own risk and such people should be highly regarded and given the highest honour due to these Martyrs. The majority of the men and women who are fighting in this futile war have come from very poor families and due to lack of higher education, have been compelled to join the armed forces and the police service. Their families are living in poverty and under difficult stiuations and some hardly have a square meal. Their habitations are unsuitable for living because they lack even the basic necessities that people should have for a comfortable life. Although most of the parents have not given consent or blessings to their children to join the war, the children have acted at their own discretion with a view to assist their families with their hard earned monies and to save Sri Lanka from the clutches of the terrorists. Also to save from the vast destruction caused to the state by these rebels. In view of the foregoing facts mentioned, the Head of State should give serious consideration to the armed forces and the police who are battling up in the front.

O.G.D.W. Jayasingha - Nugegoda.

Bunker Bliss

Who are the nation's heroes - are they defenders or players,
with a do or die war on - who are the genuine deliverers?
Real estate for sportsmen - brave soldiers a rare humble medal,
To keep marching on - their hopefilled wishes, we must settle!
Cricketers, Athletes, grab limelight - fame, comforts galore,
Fledgling soldiers in bunkers - cold, malnourished and callow,
True a world war was won - on the playing fields of Eton,
But in guerilla combat - to ignore gutty fighters is wanton!

Upali Abeywardene, Mt. Lavinia.

* We received a lot of letters on the subject of giving lands to soldiers but due to lack of space had to curtail them. This column is now ended. - Sports Editor

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