Action from the men’s basketball gold medal match between Sri Lanka and India – Pic by Sameera Peiris

By Naushad Amit in Kathmandu, Nepal

Sri Lanka added another gold, two silvers and four bronze medals to their final tally and finished third overall as the 13th South Asian Games (SAG) came to an end at the Dasarath Stadium in Kathmandu, Nepal yesterday. 

Pugilist Rumesh Sandakelum delivered a shocker when he defeated Nepal’s Ganesh Pradhan in the Men’s Light Heavyweight 81 kg class to give Sri Lanka its 40th gold medal on the final day of SAG. This took Sri Lanka’s final medal haul to 250, inclusive of 83 silver and 127 bronze medals. 

In the semi-final, Nepal’s Pradhan became the first boxer in the whole of SAG to beat an Indian rival in the event but Sandakelum’s entry into the final became the talk of the town when he comfortably knocked down Pakistan’s AIBA World Boxing Championship pugilist Uvaiz Ali Khan. This surprise blow to the favoured Pakistani boxer made the Sri Lankan finalist the favourite to win the gold medal in the Men’s Light Heavyweight 81 kg class. Yesterday Sandakelum had to expend very little energy to realise this prediction of a gold medal, when he continued his winning streak to clinch gold against his Nepali opponent. 

In the Women’s Featherweight 57 kg class, Sri Lanka’s Ayoma Dulanji had to settle for silver after losing to India’s Sonia Lather. The bronze medals were added by the losing semi-finalists of Buwaneka Eranda (Men’s Superheavyweight +91 kg), Nilmini Athauda (Women’s Flyweight 51 kg), Lasindu Eranda (Men’s Flyweight 52 kg) and Nissanka Jeevantha (Men’s Lightweight 60 kg).

Sri Lanka had to settle for yet another silver medal in the Men’s Basketball event after India comprehensively beat them 101-62 to annex the gold medal at the Covered Hall in Tripureshwor yesterday. The Lankan cagers will now return home with a tally of two silver medals – from yesterday’s men’s game and the women’s 3x3 encounter – as well as a bronze medal in the men’s 3x3. 

Yesterday was just not Sri Lanka’s day in their men’s basketball finals encounter as the Indians dominated the Lankan cagers. They were simply more skilled than their Lankan opponents. 

Nevertheless, the first quarter was a closely fought battle, although India claimed it 26-14. India further expanded the lead of 12 points as the game progressed, with the second and third quarters ending 51-24 and 79-35 respectively after India added 25 and 28 points to their tally while Sri Lanka managed to secure 10 and 11 points respectively. 

However, despite the best efforts of the Lankans in the fourth and final quarter, adding 27 points to their regional neighbours’ 22 points, India swept toward the gold medal. 

Sri Lanka’s P. Charith and Indian skipper Bhri Gubanshi top-scored for their respective teams with 17 points each in the game. For Sri Lanka, P. Udayanga (11), C. Kusal (10) and C. Joseph (10) made worthy contributions while skipper U. Praneeth was outstanding as an offensive player. For India, Amritpal Singh and A. Annadurai scored 15 points each while Hafiz Bek and Prasanna Sivakumar recorded 13 points each. 

Following the completion of all sporting activities, the closing ceremony of the 13th SAG was held at the Dasarath Stadium in front of a packed crowd. The event featured Nepali cultural items and the remaining sports teams’ representatives, in a ceremony which lasted almost three hours. 

Following the conclusion of the closing ceremony, Nepal’s Deputy Prime Minister Ishwor Pokharei handed over the International Olympic Flag to a representative from the next SAG host nation. 

However, Nepal Olympic Committee officials are still unaware if the next expected host country, Pakistan, has officially received consent to take possession of the flag. If Pakistan does not come forward, the next host country in line for this duty will be Sri Lanka. State Minister for Sports, Duminda Dissanayake, is already in Kathmandu, Nepal to make the official acceptance if Sri Lanka is given the hosting rights of SAG 2021.  

SAG records

• December 2: Nepal women’s cricketer Anjali Chand registered the best bowling figures in any international Twenty20 match, taking six wickets for no runs against the Maldives in a women’s T20 match played in Pokhara, Nepal
• December 3: Indian women’s shooter Mehuli Ghosh clinched the 10 m Air Rifle gold with a score of 253.3 in the final. Although her score, which is 0.4 higher than the current world record of 252.9 created by another Indian shooter Apurvi Chandela, will not be recognised by the ISSF, it will stand as a SAG record.
• December 3: Indian athlete Sarvesh Anil Kushare created a SAG record in the final of the Men’s High Jump event, achieving a height of 2.21 metres. He broke the record of 2.20 metres set by Sri Lankan athlete Manjula Kumara in 2004.
• December 5: India’s Karthik Unnikrishnan broke the previous SAG Triple Jump record of 16.45 metres set by compatriot Renjith Maheshwary in 2016. He cleared 16.47 metres to win the gold medal.
• December 6: Asian Games 2018 champion Tejinder Pal Singh set a new SAG record in the Men’s Shot Put event. He achieved 20.03 metres, breaking the previous record of 19.15 metres set by Indian athlete Bahadur Singh Sagoo in 1999.
• December 6: The Sri Lankan Men's 4x100 m relay team consisting of Himasha Eshan, Chanuka Sandeepa, Vinoj Suranjaya de Silva and Yupun Priyadarshana set a new SAG record in a time of 39.14 seconds. The Lankans bettered the existing record of 39.91 seconds, previously set by the Indian men’s team in 2004.
• December 7: Pakistan’s Arshad Nadeem created a SAG record in the Men’s Javelin Throw event. Nadeem’s throw reached a distance of 86.23 metres and bettered the previous distance of 83.23 metres by India, thus earning him qualification for the 2020 Olympics.  

SAG journalists protest against local cops

Hundreds of journalists who visited Kathmandu, Nepal to cover the 13th South Asian Games staged a silent protest against the Nepali Police for assaulting a local photojournalist. 

According to a Nepal journalist, who organised the protest prior to the closing ceremony, the photojournalist was deliberately manhandled by the police while he was capturing a scene where spectators were engaged in a brawl to buy tickets for the men’s football final match between Nepal and Bhutan.

“While baton-charging the unruly spectators on the road, the police officers dragged the photojournalist inside the stadium premises and severely assaulted him. He had produced his official identification card and documents, but they never bothered about any of those. His camera equipment was also slightly damaged,” a senior local sports journalist revealed.

The photojournalist is currently being treated at a local hospital. 

Four dengue-hit athletes still in hospital

Out of the 14 Sri Lankan athletes hospitalised in Nepal for dengue fever, only four remain yet to be discharged. 

The athletes who are still under observation are Amasha de Silva, M.U. Kumara and S.P. Janaka Bandula as well as a Kabaddi athlete.

Sprinter Nadeesha Ramanayake, who was one of the first to be hospitalised here in Kathmandu, was discharged after her platelet count improved on Friday evening, but was readmitted after experiencing fever a day later. Ramanayake’s condition was closely observed by the team doctor of the Sri Lankan contingent, Dr. Lal Ekanayale. After her condition improved and she was given the all-clear, Ramanayake was discharged on Tuesday night. 

Women’s footballer Gayathri Nanayakkara, whose condition was earlier critical, was also discharged after her platelet count improved. She received prior treatment at the Intensive Care Unit (ICU). A total of 10 athletes have been discharged from the Blue Cross Hospital in Kathmandu, located a few metres from the main venue, the Dasarath Stadium, and the Vayodha Hospital, which is a few miles away. 

Six of them were sent back to rejoin their respective teams by Monday night. Out of the four athletes still in hospital, three are being treated at regular wards while the kabaddi player is currently being treated at the ICU.

According to the observations of Dr. Ekanayake, the dengue fever was initially contracted in Colombo, not Nepal. He said that the Sugathadasa Sports Hotel could have been the site of infection as a total of five athletes were found to have come down with the fever when they were housed there prior to SAG. 

“I advised the authorities to properly clean the place and treat it medically before putting in athletes, as the Sugathadasa Sports Hotel was kept shut for a long period. But no measures were taken before athletes were housed there. If it was the cause, we failed to nip it in the bud and our athletes are suffering due to our own shortcomings.”

The news of Sri Lanka’s athletes being hospitalised for dengue fever stirred strong interest in the Nepali print and electronic media. After the news reached Colombo, the incumbent Sport Minister Dallas Alahapperuma made a personal visit to the Sugathadasa Sports Hotel and pledged that he would act promptly to remedy matters and promised stern action against those who ignored the pleas of experts.