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Royal sports - progress or setback!
Sunday, 2 October 2005 - 4:28 AM SL Time
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Royal College, Colombo, one of Sri Lanka`s top most schools in the sporting front, experienced a downward spiral in the 2005 season. The two sports which nosedived in terms of results were cricket and rugby.
The Reid Avenue school also struggled in other sports as swimming and boxing, but it was the remarkable lack of success in cricket and rugby which raised eyebrows of even their ardent old boys and supporters.
Royal lost the 2005 126th `Battle of the Blues` annual cricket encounter, to arch rivals S. Thomas` in March this year, by a hefty margin of an innings after seven years. But the real drawback as far as Royal sports was concerned occurred with the first XV rugby team.
The rugby side led by out-side half Varun Wijewardene went through a horror time in the concluded 2005 Singer League tournament. The Division 1 `A` team mustered only a solitary win against St. Joseph`s while losing five other games.
Their predicament was compounded when the Sri Lanka Schools Rugby Football Association (SLSRFA) relegated the Colombo seven school to play in the Division 1 `B` group next season as per the tournament rules.
To make matters worse they lost the prestigious Bradby Shield for the first time in four seasons to long standing foes Trinity College, Kandy.
`Sunday Island` sought the views of Royal`s Senior Games Master Sudath Liyanagunawardene with regard to the declining standards in sports.
`I agree that there has been a setback in certain glamour sports as cricket and rugby but I have to stress that this is only a temporary setback,` a determined Liyanagunwardene said.
`Sports can be compared to life. As it is there are vicissitudes in life and so it is in sport.
`There are a few reasons which can be mentioned for this drawback.`
He pointed out that one of the main reasons for lack of success at the top level would have been due to fielding teams with rookies which can always be counter-productive.
`In team sports fielding too many youngsters can really go against you as was the case in cricket and rugby.
`But that alone is not the reason for the plight faced by cricketers and rugby players,` The Royal Senior Games Master continued.
He emphasised that current schoolboys involved in big time sports were showing a tendency to concentrate more on studies in the face of extreme pressure from parents and elders.
`Today the schoolboys have more or less become machines and clearly there is a lack of concentration on the part of these boys towards sports as it is education that proves crucial in the end.
`They are on a relentless grind and are struggling to strike a balance in studies and sport.`
Liyanagunawardene mentioned that Royal also have to acknowledge progress made by other schools in team sports, and that a drawback of this nature will also give them the opportunity to iron out deficiencies and be in form for the next season.
`It is very tough to remain at the top year in and year out and it is applicable for all schools not just for Royal.
`The school has the ingredients to recover from this nightmare and compete with full force next year,` the Royal Senior Games Master remarked.
Liyanagunawardene also agreed that Royal have not been up to scratch in other sports as boxing and swimming but reiterated the fact that supporters need to look at the broader picture instead of criticising the teams.
He also added that there was no question of Royal not having the required facilities for players to perform at an optimum level, and principal Upali Gunasekera had been briefed on the present state of sports at the school.
According to Liyanagunawardene, school head Gunasekera has always shown a keen interest in the progress of sporting teams from one of the pioneering educational institutions in the country.
Principal of Royal College Upali Gunasekera when contacted by `Sunday Island` preffered to term the disappointing results obtained in cricket and rugby as part of the game, but wanted to look ahead to the future in a positive frame of mind.
`I don`t think anyone needs to press the panic button as regards our performances,` he said.
`This could well happen to any other school, not just to Royal.
`As it was Royal who went through this lean patch everybody is talking about it.`
Gunasekera, who headed Isipatana College before taking over at the helm of the Colombo seven school, emphasized that one of the main reasons for being behind the eight ball was fielding inexperienced teams in 2005.
`This was a very unfortunate situation and we had to make do with the available resources but the experienced gained by these players I am confident will stand in good stead for the years to come,` added the Royal principal, who was quick to point out the success enjoyed by the baseball team and the titles achieved in various groups by the hockey teams.
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baba2001
Joined: Aug 2005
Posts: 218
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3 Oct 2005 08:19:41 GMT Report for Abuse
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Difference of principals might have lead to this calamity.
Ideal choice would have been not the principal from Isipathana...Thurstan principal should have been the best choice. |
prasath
Joined: Aug 2005
Posts: 110
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3 Oct 2005 09:53:57 GMT Report for Abuse
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| Very disappointing season year for royal college sports this year especially for a school where you find all the facilities in the world, what a disgrace!! |
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