Twin Asia Cups Bring Double Joy

Cricketing and netballing heroes felicitated

In the days of the classic Roman Empire before its decline and fall, imperators and their conquering armies would lead parades into the capital city with their captives in train to celebrate triumphant campaigns in far-flung provinces.

There was a carnival festival in the air during such victorious processions, often belying the crumbling reality behind the jubilant facade.

No different from some modern-day republics where triumphantly processing along the traditional ‘jubilee route’ from the airport to the commercial metropolis serves – if only momentarily or for a Sundays afterwards – to help people forget they live in a democracy that is creaking at the seams and where the economy has collapsed ignominiously.

Be those harsh realities as they may, there was not a glum face in sight or a grim thought lurking at the back of the adoring crowds’ minds as they thronged the streets from the Bandaranaike International Airport (BIA) along the main A3 and byroads leading their own conquering heroes to victors’ welcomes home.

It was a joint celebration by the state with intention to felicitate and the well-meaning people who only wanted to crown the returning crusaders with laurels of their own. And for the tandem of Sri Lanka’s all conquering sporting heroes, it was smiles and pats on the back – both literal and metaphorical – all the way along the joyous victory parade.

For this was indeed a historic day for an island nation in two arenas of sporting competition featuring the best of both genders.

The men’s cricket team won the Asia Cup in the Twenty20 (T20 format) a few hours after Sri Lanka won the equivalent championship in women’s netball.

Sri Lanka’s cricketers clinched their sixth Asian title by beating Pakistan in a thriller at the UAE’s Dubai International Cricket Stadium while its netballers secured their corresponding trophy – also their sixth title in a double coincidence – after defeating the Singaporean women’s team in their own country.

Our netballers led by Gayanjali Amarawansa beat Singapore 63-53 while Dasun Shanaka’s Sri Lankans trounced Pakistan by 23 runs to win their respective Asia Cups in style.

It was the first time Sri Lanka had won two Asian titles on the same day; and certainly, it went no small way towards mitigating the challenging circumstances in which our islanders were conquering life.

The men’s cricket team won the Asia Cup in the Twenty20 (T20 format) a few hours after Sri Lanka won the equivalent championship in women’s netball