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 18th April 1999 |
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Goa here they comeBy Annesley FerreiraSri Lanka in their search for honours at the second South Asian Football
Federation Coca-Cola Football championships at the Nehru International
Stadium in Goa, India from April 22 to May 1, will Perera with ten years experience at national level, a professional in stature with an added experience of six years, as an international playing in 40 international matches signed up by Calcutta's Mohun Bagan, will be assisted by Dudley Stainwall of Renown fame ably supported by M. Ammanullah, M.Kabeer, M.Anees, T.N.Bagoos, Isuru Perera among the senior players with all the rest being juniors just under 23 years of age. Perera and Ammanulla both played key roles in Sri Lanka winning the SAARC Gold Cup in 1994 at the Sugathadasa Stadium. The other countries participating and their groupings are: Group - A: India, Pakistan, Bangladesh. Perera's deputy Dudley Stainwall is another player with over 30 international match experience during the last seven years. This team was picked after several trials being held after the earlier national pool under P.D.Sirisena was disbanded, with much emphasis on grooming the under 23 pool in preparation for the pre-Olympics qualifying round in Korea this year. The final team which was approved by the Minister of Youth Affairs and Sports S.B.Dissanayake was in residential training under Subhani Hassimdeen with technical advice from M.Karuthu loaned by the Malaysian Football Federation. The President of the Football Federation of Sri Lanka, Manilal Fernando told The Sunday Times that no doubt he would like to see Sri Lanka winning the SAFF Gold Cup, buthe stressed that this will certainly help the Lankans get international exposure in aiming to do better in the year 2000. Coach Subhani Hassimdeen speaking to The Sunday Times said that he hopes his players deliver the goods and he will make certain changes to the team match by match on a new system of play introduced by him with all ten players being involved in attack and defence barring the goalkeeper. The Sri Lanka team will comprise: Roshan Perera (Captain), M.Ammullah, M.Kabeer, M.Anees, Imityas Raheem, Dudley Stainwall, Isuru Perera, T.N.Gagoos, Samantha Prabath, Imran Mohammed, Sugath Tillakaratne, M.Fowzan, Chathura Madranga, Nalin Nandana Kumara, Anura Sampath, E.A.Channa, Niroshan Abeysekera, Upali Seneviratne, Kasun Jayasuriya, M.Fuard. Officials: S.G.Randeni Head of delegation, M.Premadasa-Manager Subhani Hasimdeen - Coach, Dr.Priyanga de Soysa-Doctor, Stanley Perera - League Representative Negombo, Nimal Wickremaratunga -Match official, M.Karuthu - Technical Advisor.
Coca-Cola/SAFF Match ScheduleThursday 22/04/99 A India vs. Bangladesh 17.00
Sanath returns to formBy Saif IzzadeenThe premier Inter- Club cricket tour nament began last weekend after a two-week break, due to a triangular cricket tournament hosted by the Board of Control for Cricket in Sri Lanka. The triangular tournament featured the Sri Lanka 'A' and B teams with
the third team being the English county side Leicesterhire. The tournament
was won by Sri Lanka 'A' skippered by the former Sri The reason the premier tournament was given a two-week break was that most of the players who played for Sri Lanka 'A' and 'B' teams were from these clubs who played in this tournament Last weekend's Inter Club cricket tournament saw the return of Sri Lanka's and Bloomfield's dashing opening bat Sanath Jayasuriya who along with Romesh Kaluwitharana revolutionized batting in the first 15 overs in the 1996 World Cup. Jayasuriya returned to first class cricket after a three month break due to an injury. Jayasuriya was injured when a Brendan Julian delivery shot up surprisingly and hit his right forearm at Adelaide. This was in the Carlton and United one-day series matches against Australia. Sanath made his return for Bloomfield against the Sebastianites in no uncertain terms when he scored 90 and 109. Both these knocks saw the old swashbuckling style of batting by Jayasuriya. Jayasuriya should have made a dream return to cricket with twin centuries but it was not to be as he missed the century in the first innings by 10 runs. The premier Inter Club cricket tournament saw four players reaching three-figure marks. One of the players went on to complete a grand double century. The player who scored the double century was Russel Arnold from NCC. Pasan Wanasinghe of Galle CC, Saman Jayantha of Singha SC and Sanath Jayasuriya of Bloomfield were the ones to score the centuries.Naveed Nawaz of NCC and Sanath Jayasuriya of Bloomfield missed their centuries by 4 and 10 runs respectively. If they had achieved them they would certainly have been deserving centuries. This week's batting honours went to Sri Lanka discard and NCC's left hand opening bat Russel Arnold who made a dazzling unbeaten 200 against Galle CC. This knock by Arnold helped NCC to force a draw against Galle CC. Sri Lanka's pace bowler Eric Upashantha celebrated his inclusion in the World Cup squad when he took 8 for 67 against Singha SC and took this week's bowling honours. Of the the seven Inter-Club matches played last week Colts and CCC scored convincing victories over Singha SC and Wattala Antonian SC respectively. Colts beat Singha SC by nine wickets while CCC scored an innings and 98 runs win over Wattala Antonian SC in two days.
ResultsBloomfield - 358 and 276 vs Sebastianites - 240 and 41 for 2 - draw. Galle CC - 298 vs NCC - 142 and 438 for 4 - draw. BRC - 261 and 152 for 2 vs Kurunegala YCC - 231 - draw. Singha SC - 247 and 145 lost to Colts CC - 212 and 181 for 1 by nine wickets. CCC - 303 beat Wattala Antonian SC - 110 and 95 by an innings and 8 runs. Panadura SC - 159 and 252 for 9 vs Moors SC - 156 - draw. SSC - 215 for 9 dec vs Matara SC - 22 for 1 - Match abandoned Club honours
English game rich in cashEnglish soccer is booming. Attendances keep on rising, money is pouring in from television and sponsors, and overseas players are queuing up to play in the premier league. But the game's popularity and undoubted excitement is diverting attention from a decline in quality and success at international and European level that could hold the seeds for the game's financial downfall. The government's decision on Friday to turn down pay TV giant BSkyB's one billion dollar bid for Manchester United may, with hindsight, be viewed as the moment when the wave of money that has propelled soccer in the 1990s crested. The blocking was triggered by government concerns that a tie-up world hurt the free market in broadcasting but, more interestingly, Trade Secretary Stephen Byers was worried it could also hurt the very structure of Britain's national game. "I accept (the) conclusions that the merger would damage the quality of British football by reinforcing the trend towards growing inequalities between the larger, richer clubs and the smaller, poorer ones," Byers said in a statement. Quality, as a concept in the soccer-mad 1990s has been largely ignored or equated with imported stars such as Gianfranco Zola and Dennis Bergkamp. If they want to play here, surely we must have the best league in Europe, goes the thinking. (Reuter)
Retain seasoned campaignersBy Kasturiarachchi WarnakulasuriyaFormer Sri Lanka fast bowler Tony Opatha has said that Arjuna should quit immediately, "if Sri Lanka is to improve according to your issue of March 26". "I and Anura Tennakoon retired to give young guys such as Rumesh, Asantha and Ravi a chance," he says. It is easy to say "quit now and make room for freshers". But we must think of the other side of the story too. Have we produced enough seasoned campaigners to take the place of the seniormost personalities with confidence? If you examine the situation of the newcomers, freshers the answer is negative. We have been trying to train so many bowlers during the last five years. Yet, have we produced good results? We tried Pushpakumara, Sajeewa, Jayantha, Nuwan, Suresh, Bandaratilleke, Ruchira and the latest are Upashanta and Boteju. Were they able to produce any outstanding results, so that they could be retained for tests or ODIs consecutively? The selectors had to gamble on each bowler, from one match to another, and the result was, we are still unable to produce a good fast bowler since Opatha himself. Ajith, Asantha or D.L.S. Even Pramodya could come upto a certain standard very recently only after hard labour of 10 years. Can we be satisfied with this batting? No. Not only Pramodya, but our tail end batsmen have failed on a number of occasions miserably in the face of outright defeats or marginal defeats. Take for instance the Pepsi Triangular ODI against Pakistan, which we lost by a mere 9 runs. When Pakistan bowlers who were the tail ender batsmen could score 82 runs, Sri Lankan counterparts could produce only 2 runs! What a pity? Then there have been instances when our seniormost blasters failed, our juniors too, failed miserably, throwing away their wickets for a pittance. That shows their immaturity. Very rarely a junior batsman could rise to the occasion, when the captain or the vice captain or another senior blaster fail. Unfortunately at this juncture, we have been able to produce only one batsman, in Mahela Jayawardhana who could carry his bat to score centuries, to save Sri Lanka or end up with a victory? Together with a praiseworthy innings. But he is no more a junior now but a campaigner with first class foreign exposure and with first class rating from international cricket commentators and critics, though he is just 22 years old. Hard work with grit and determination in all three departments of the game has earned him that praise. Next to him is only Upul Chandana among the tail enders. Though Arjuna has only a handful of centuries to his credit, when compared to his record of matches played, he has been able to rise to the occasion, many a time, like a saviour, playing a captain's innings when all his boys had failed in batting. It is so applicable to Aravinda too. There was a time when Hashan had been called "Mr. Reliable" and it is heartening to see he has been able to regain that position even to some extent, once again. Only a seasoned campaigner can do so but not the half baked of our gamble list. You can't produce a good, talented cricketer, overnight. From school cricket, to club cricket and then to international cricket, it is a hard fought dedicated journey. That is how our most senior cricketers Arjuna, Aravinda, Mahanama and Hashan have come to be what they are today. Opatha says he and Anura Tennakoon paved the way for Asantha, Romesh and Ravi Ratnayake. But by then, all of them had attained a certain standard in bowling, on a sound footing unlike our half baked poolists of the gamble list. Their coming into the team cannot be compared at any rate, with the current set of try-and-see experimental lot. Opatha once again accuses our senior players of their coming of age into thirties and the frequent injuries they are faced with from time to time are said to be a contributing factor to drop them now, according to his experience. Not only our boys but other cricketing nations, are also facing this set-back, after all cricketers too, are human. In a game like cricket where a batsman faces a fast bowler of terrific speed with bouncers at times, injuries will have to be experienced. You can't help that. If that is the position, with the experienced lot what can you expect from our inexperienced inmature bowler - tailend batsmen. Still we have only five batsmen in, Sanath, Aravinda, Arjuna, Mahela and Chandana, who can face fast deliveries with a sharp eye and some degree of confidence. All these shows that a cricketer cannot be produced overnight. Foreign exposure in match practice counts for that. A certain amount of responsibility lies on our cricket administrators over this issue. They have never taken seriously the need to give match practice at domestic level, to our tail-ender batsmen. Otherwise bowlers like Pramodyaand Murali would have been much more reliable batsmen today when you compare them with their junior counterparts of other cricketing nations, who can produce a total of at least 25-40 runs at the tail to win a match.
Ramadhin and Valentine"With those two little pals of mine..." Two of the main reasons why the West Indies beat England by 3 Tests to 1 in 1950 was the batting of the three W's and the bowling combination of two twenty year old unknowns Ramadhin and Valentine. Their brilliant bowling in the Lords Test of that series was immortalized by Lord Beginner in a calypso "Cricket, Lovely Cricket" which included that famous line, "with this two little pals of mine Ramadhin and Valentine." How beautifully they lend their names to a calypso. Can one imagine a calypso with the names Brown and Smith? In that series the English batsmen could not make head or tail of either of them, and from start to finish they ran circles round the English batsmen. There were arguments as to who the better bowler was. However, their strength lay in their combined efforts. This despite the fact that both had their own individual styles. Before they came on the scene there were two other famous spinning combinations - Hirst and Rhodes and Australia's Grimmet and O'Reilly. Valentine was a natural finger spinner and no matter what field his captain set he always bowled to it. And like all finger spinners he suffered from that plague that dodges them - wear and tear of the spinning finger. Sonny Ramadhin was a vastly different bowler to Valentine and no batsman knew what to expect next. During the M.C.C. tour of Australia in 1950-51, Dennis Compton told Keith Miller, "this fellow Ramadhin is a beauty. All you seeis a white shirt, a black hand and a red ball." This really sent the creeps down the Australian batsmen's spines, because the West Indies were due to tour Australia at the end of 1951. So Arthur Morris and Sid Barnes did a 100 mile trek from Sydney to Newcastle to watch Ramadhin and Valentine bowl in an up-country game just before the first Test. They sat by the sight screen with powerful field glasses, but came back with very little information to pass on. In 1950 all the English batsmen tried to play them off the wicket without using their feet. This was exactly what doctor ordered for Ramdhin and Valentine. Especially Ramadhin who had two distinct deliveries. But almost every recognized West Indian batsman could read Ramadhin by watching his run-up and the movement of his hands. This was because Ramadhin could never disguise his delivery. Once he made up his mind to bowl a particular delivery he could never change his mind, If Ramadhin ran into bowl with an ordinary clockwise motion of his bowling arm, then it would be an off spinner. -Bruce Maurice
Kumara, the golfing lad from nowhereBy Ravi NagahawatteTwenty-year-old B.G. Lalith Kumara came to be known to many as 'the boy who plays golf' following a stupendous feat at a tournament worked off last year in India. The chirpy lad who always wears a bright smile vanquished his opponents at this 'All India Tournament' and made the other 95 contenders stand up and take notice while he came up to receive his award. The first prize contained just the trophy and no cash like in other big sporting events. But for Kumara, the win itself was 'big' enough. " I just wanted to win it" said Kumara while reflecting on this award winning performance in an interview with 'The Sunday Times'. However before establishing himself among the local golfers, Kumara was only known as just another player who was willing to try hard. He had been seen practising daily from morning till late afternoon. Little did most of the club members know that the lad was capable of producing a giant killing performance like in India. In a game where establishing ones self is as hard as climbing the greasy pole, Lalith, with his efforts proved a point that he has it in him to make a name for himself in golf. He even feels that he earns his daily bread and butter by playing golf. The youngest in a family of six, Lalith, grew up in an environment where playing golf was a regular sight like fishing would be for folks living close to the coastal areas. Residing in the vicinity of the golf links in Borella , the lad says that he was associated with golf since childhood. He remembers as if today the first time he held a golf club. Kumara had just been eight then. " I felt that I could come to a place in this sport," said Lalith while reminiscing the thoughts which came to him that day. However, it had not been until he turned 18 that the thought of golf seriously entered his mind. Two years later, a period which can be termed as his glory years, brought about a string of events which took place on foreign soil. Kumara commenced that year by making his debut with the national side in Singapore and was placed 28th among 150 golfers who participated in the 'Singapore Amateur Open.' Then he took wing to Pakistan for the 'Pakistan Amateur Open' a tournament which he considers was the turning point in his career. "I came fourth. I still remember I had to fight for this place," said Kumara. Placed seventh at the conclusion of the third round, Laith moved into fourth place with a flurry of shots which included an eagle - hitting the ball into the hole with three attempts when one is granted the opportunity to make it in five shots - in the seventh hole . "It also helped me to make up for the two shots. I was down until then." Going down memory lane to that tournament in Pakistan , Kumara had this to say: "I knew I could make an impact". Three months into the year 1999 , the folks living in Chandigarh , India, saw a teenager come from nowhere and steal a big title. "I badly needed to win this one - The All India Tournament - and I finally succeeded". Like all golfers Kumara too got to take with him a caddie and most importantly he was a close friend of his. "I do not like to call him a caddie. I prefer to call him my friend because he helped me a lot to get my mind back into the game at times when I was not faring well in the competition. Players do not expect this kind of help from a caddie. But it is welcome at times when things are not going smooth". Asked about his future plans of doing a job and settling down , Kumara, said that the only thought that enters his mind right now is golf. He took this opportunity to thank all the club members for the assistance given to him.
Rugby great CampeseEverything you ever wanted to know about David Campese.... and more. His full name is David Ian Campese, born on October 21, 1962. Campo's father, Tony, is Italian and emigrated to Australia from a little town, not far from Venice, more than 30 years ago. Tony still speaks English with a heavy accent. There are four children in the Campese family. He has two younger sisters and an elder brother. Campo grew up in the working class suburb of Queanbeyan and played rugby league at the age of 17. After he left high school, the principal of the private college St. Edmunds rang and asked him to repeat and play rugby for the school. Campo declined. His big break came in an under-21 match for ACT against NSW. He had such a standout game at age 19, a few influential people earmarked him for greater things. Before the end of 1982, and with a lot of leading players pulling out, Campo was selected for his first Wallaby tour to New Zealand. In his Test debut, he stood up to great All Black winger Stu Wilson and scored a try. The name Campese was on everyone's lips. While he has been known as the world's greatest winger, Campo has also played 16 of his 101 Tests as a fullback. He holds plenty of records. Australia's most capped player with 101 Tests, the world's leading Test try scorer with 64, a record four tries in a Test, a mark he shares with Greg Cornelsen. Campo was the player of the tournament at the 1991 World Cup, and played one of his greatest matches in the semi-final win over New Zealand. In 1996 he was awarded a UNESCO prize as one of the outstanding sportsmen of the century. He scored his 50th Test try against South Africa in 1992 at Newlands. Campo has figured in all three World Cups, in 1987, 1991 and 1995. He played his 100th Test against Italy in 1996, in Padua, not far from where his father was born. Campo's mum and dad had never seen him play overseas before that game against the Italians. He was on the verge of retirement after copping criticism for a pass behind his own line which led to a crucial try for the British Lions in the 1989 series in Australia. Campo has been dropped twice. From a Test against France in 1990 and from the Australian side, with Bob Dwyer as coach, in 1995. He fought his way back in 1996, with Greg Smith the coach.
LETTERSArjuna's luck will change Although Arjuna Ranatunge has come under severe criticism for a string of failures one cannot blame him, when at a time he is experiencing "Sade Sathi" the evil period of Saturn's transit from his radical moon. Arjuna who was born on 1st Dec. 1963, has the Sun in Scorpio and Moon in Taurus, his failure has been because of Saturn's present position from the Moon, now, this effect will only be in the region of Asia and also Australia. His luck will change in England as his Sun and Moon signs will be different. Arjuna and his team will perform better in England and our chances will be much stronger. England is under the sign of Aries, Australia under the sign of Saggitarius, Sri Lanka as I believe, is under the sign of Aquarius. Jupiter will be in the sign of Aries which will favour Australia very much, England too will benefit from this transit. India which is Capricorn will have its lord Saturn in Aries which is weak, South Africa under Cancer will also find it difficult, so will the West Indies. Arjuna Ranatunga is bound to do well as luck will favour him, this will be a turning point for our cricketers too, we should do well as Arjuna's luck will change for the better, the only tough opposition will come from Australia and England. Australia will be much favoured and they will be in the finals, and if the stars do favour Arjuna - who knows, it might be a repeat of the 1996 World Cup. I strongly hope Arjuna will open the batting with either Russel Arnold and Chandana, pick the singles, and hit the odd boundary and keep the score board ticking - Jayasuriya - and Romesh must come down the order, so too Mahela - Sri Lanka must spring surprises, and the only way to achieve this, is a change in the batting order, as well as in the bowling, Arjuna must lead from the front. He is very capable of scoring a run per ball - so too is Chandana - they must be in the frontline, to build a good innings. So watch out for Arjuna - he has to excel in any position - he will be much in the limelight so too will Jayasuriya who will excel in the bowling department. Australia and England are the favourites, but our boys can upset all, will the stars play a major role in Arjuna's leadership? Well, let's wait and see. - Noel Bryan Ranasinghe If not for Neil, Navaratnam would have quit athletics I refer to the article appearing in The Sunday Times Sports Plus of March 21, 1999 by Mr. W.M.V. de Silva reminding readers of the extraordinary sporting ability of Mr. W.M. Neil de Silva, an old Mahindian. The fact that he was the 12th man on the national side for the 2nd Test match against Pakistan and an athlete of repute who specialised in the Hop-Step-and-Jump and national record holder and represented the country in athletics, we should call him a Double International. After his retirement from athletics and before he migrated to the States he was concerned and helped many athletes in so many ways. To me he gladly gifted his track suit. I will be guilty if I fail to mention of an incident 39 years ago in the year 1960. The first Triangular meet between Ceylon, Mysore and Madras was held in 1958 in India and Neil was the captain of the Ceylon team and he won the Hop-Step-and-Jump event. The second Triangular Athletic meet between Ceylon, Mysore and Madras was held in Ceylon in 1960. At the Trials held to select the Ceylon Athletic Team I managed to come third behind N. Balasubramaniam of the Air Force and D. Attanagoda of the Army. Incidentally N. Balasubramaniam was the National champion in 1959. The Host country had the privilege of nominating three Athletes for each event and I was lucky to have been included. Derek Boosey, India's National Hop-Step-and-Jump champion was a member of the Mysore team and he was strongly tipped to win this event being the son of L.T. Boosey, holder of the Ceylon All Comers Record in the Hop-Step- and-Jump event. The venue of the Triangular athletic meet was the Police Grounds, Bambalapitiya. There was a large crowd to witness the Hop-Step-and-Jump event in view of the wide publicity in the newspapers given to Derek Boosey and N. Balasubramaniam. At the end of the fourth round I was far behind all others with a distance of only 44'-7". Derek Boosey and one Rao from Madras had gone over 47'. Disappointed, worried and helpless and the fear of having to face the then Chairman Police Athletics, the late Mr. C.C. Dissanayake and Secretary Mr. David Thambyah after the meet for the poor performance, I was lying down not knowing what to do when suddenly Neil appeared from somewhere and asked how the going was and I replied that it was an off day for me. Neil wished me well before I was called to do my fifth jump, which was also less than 45'. An expert and so clever Neil was that he spotted my faults and then first wanted me to watch Derek Boosey jumping. He then wanted me to shorten my run up by two feet, concentrate more on the step and avoid the strong cross wind when running to jump. The sixth and final round was about to be over and I was the last man to jump now when Neil came up to me again and said, 'Nava you can do it'. I did exactly what Neil told me and my final jump was 47'-7" missing Neil's record by 3/4" thus beating the Indian National champion and Ceylon National champion. It was like winning a sweep and the victory was celebrated in grand style at the Inspector's Mess. In September that year at the national championship meet held at the Colombo Oval I won a double by winning the Hop-Step-and-Jump and Long Jump events with Neil by my side. Neil helped me to improve on my Long Jump and came close to 23 feet by clearing 22'-10 3/4". On this performance I was selected to represent Ceylon at the South East Asian Peninsular Games held in Penang, Malaysia in 1960. Twenty four years later in 1984, I went as Manager/Coach of the Sri Lanka Youth Team for the World Junior Athletic Championship meet held in Seoul, South Korea and there was Derek Boosey on an assignment sent by the International Amateur Athletic Federation to organise the Asian Games and the Olympic Games. Derek Boosey had migrated to UK in the early 60's and had represented Great Britain at the 1968 Mexico Olympics and was placed sixth with a distance of 54'-4 1/2" exactly an improvement of seven feet. He was good enough to arrange with the sponsors of the World Junior Athletic Championship meet 'Pro Specs to donate track suits, spikes, deck shoes and bags for the athletes and me. On my recommendation to the then A.A.F. of Sri Lanka Derek Boosey came to Sri Lanka on a coaching assignment and our athletes benefited immensely. All my achievements and the trips to Malaysia and Seoul were due to the fact that I was a National champion and what matters is who made me a champion? If not for Neil, I may have given up athletics. - C. Navaratnam, (Retired Senior Superintendent of Police), Nankadawara Estate, Madampe (N.W.P.).
'Rocky' Marciano and the 'Sweet Killer' RayRocky Marciano was one of the most primitive, brutal and effective heavyweights
of the modern era, a champion whose unbeaten record has yet to be bettered.
He was born into a poor Italian family in He began boxing in the army, and when on leave he had his first amateur fight, but was disqualified after kneeing his opponent in the groin in the second round because he was too tired to hold up his arms. Marciano got into better condition for his professional debut in 1947. Yet stamina was rarely an issue for the young American - his opponents could not live with his ferocious power - and the squat heavyweight who stood at just five foot 11 inches and weighed just 184 pounds was not taken to a third round until his 13th contest. In 1951, Rocky fought the legendary Joe Louis who was making a misguided
comeback, and knocked him out in round eight. His reputation was growing
fast, and quick knockouts in his next two Marciano took the champion's best shots and hit the canvas but he kept attacking and in round 13, the referee stopped the contest. The next fight, a return with Walcott, ended in round one, Rocky had begun a series of defences which left him finally with a perfect career record - 49 wins in 49 fights, with 43 knock-outs. Marciano had been careful with his earnings, and appeared set for a happy prosperous life, but on the eve of his 46th birthday he was killed when the aircraft in which he was flying crashed at Newton, Iowa. In recent times, Mike Tyson's all-action style has led to comparisons with the great champion, and the similarity of their physiques makes this understandable but Roccky Marciano had the durability and the mental capacity to stay in top physical condition which Tyson found impossible to match. Sugar RaySugar Ray Robinson is often summed up by experts as the greatest pound for pound fighter of all time. He took the middleweight championship on five occasions and still retired with hardly a mark on his face. Sugar Ray was born Walter Smith in Detroit, Michigan, USA, in 1921. After his parents separated, young Smith went with his mother to New York where he was just another street kid until a priest took him to a gymnasium. Sugar Ray made his amateur debut standing in for a boy who was unfit and competed under the name Ray Robinson - a ring name he decided to keep. After a run of victories, the name "Sugar" was added after someone remarked what a sweet boxer he was. After 40 wins Jake La Motta, the legendary Raging Bull, out- pointed Robinson. It turned out to be his last defeat for eight years. The war frustrated his hopes of a world title and he had to wait until 1946, before out-pointing Tommy Bell for the welterweight crown. In 1951, Robinson, by now the dominant welterweight, moved up to renew his rivalry with La Motta. In a brilliant display, the title switched hands as the referee rescued La Motta in round 13. Robinson was a colourful character. He moved around in a pink Cadillac and carried an entourage including a golf partner, a dwarf mascot and his hairdresser. A setback occurred in London later in 1951 when he was out-pointed by the British Champion Randolph Turpin,.The two met again a couple of months later in New York. On the brink Robinson came back in round 10 with an assault that won him back his title. Robinson then took the light heavyweight title despite conceding 14 pounds to the champion Joey Maxim. After announcing his retirement in 1952, Robinson returned to the ring in 1955, with his personal finances in a mess. Astonishingly he regained his middleweight crown at the age of 35. Defeat in 1957 was followed by yet another triumph a year later over Carmen Basilo. This was the last hurrah and after a defeat in 1961, Robinson should have quit for good. He lived for fighting and in 1965, aged 45, he finally retired. No boxer ever knocked out this consummate pugilist. -Thushara Kumarasinghe Courtesy Sports World |
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be
led by Roshan Perera. 
Lanka
player Duleep Samaraweera.
Brockton,
Massachusetts in 1923.
fights
brought him a world title bid against Jersey Joe Walcott.