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| Sunday, 13 June 2004 |
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Sports |  |
| News Business Features Editorial
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Binupa Wijesinghe and Niloo Jayatilleke top golfers at Lectra tourney by S. M. Jiffrey Abdeen - Kandy Sports Corr. The longest and the highest participation of the golf competition organised by the Victoria Golf and Country Resort and sponsored by the Lectra Apparel Technologies - the Lectra monthly medal grandprix came to an end with 14-year-old Wycherly International schoolboy Binupa Wijesinghe winning the mens 'A' division championship while Niloo Jayatilleke in a late splurge, carried away the Ladies championship at the Victoria Golf course at Rajawella. The grandprix saw a very large participation with a number of additional prizes thrown to add glamour to the occasion. Binupa Wijesinghe who led the 12-month competition race in the end finished an easy winner with 1,327 points though Sam Gunaratne in a last-ditch attempt was expected to give a good fight but had to be contented with the runners-up berth with 942 points. Both put up some exceptional performances throughout the competition. Binupa Wijesinghe plays to a handicap of 7 while Sam Gunaratne 16. But the schoolboy, despite his handicap getting lowered with every monthly competition, did not struggle at any stage. He celebrated this Lectra grand prix win by being selected to participate in the Junior World Golf Championship to be held in Scotland this month. Sahil Malhothra another student finished second runner up with 772 points. Niloo Jayatilleke won the ladies title with 528 points and it was a sort of a triple crown for this persevering golfer as she won the longest drive and the Nearest to the Pin competition too. But she had a stroke of luck as Suwen Selvaratnam who led the race in the final month had to pull out of the grand prix due to a commitment abroad and Niloo romped home winner with her arch rival out of the way. Suwen Selvaratnam finished runner-up with 492 points and in third place was Indira Tibblina with 399 points. Sixteen-year-old schoolboy from Ecole Internationale School, Digana Chamil Wickremasinghe won the mens 'B' division championship with 1059 points having a clear 294 point lead over the runner up Ananda Manawadu who got 765 points and in third slot was Swedish-born Veinert Holm with 672 points. The Best Lectra Customer award to ladies went to Roshini Sangani while the award for men's was won by former Sri Lanka Test cricketer Sidath Wettimuni. The twelve-month golf competition lavishly sponsored by the Lectra Apparel Technologies saw some fine performances with the juniors from Victoria excelling giving the much experienced seniors a good run for their money. The Chairman of the Lectra Apparel Technologies Rohan de Silva said that the main objective of sponsoring this championship is to popularise the game of golf and spread it among the juniors and dispel the mistaken notion that golf is a game among the elite and the older generation. This is another sport where with dedication and application Sri Lanka could reach high goals. He was happy that his vision of roping in the youngsters has had the desired results. Lectra Grand Prix results: Mens 'A' division: Winner: Dinupa Wijesinghe - 1327 points. Runner-up: Sam Gunaratne - 942 points. Top eight finishers from the rest: Sahil Malhothra 772 points, Sidath Wettimuni 759 points, Sanjay Wettimuni 646 points, Srinivas Rao 445 points, Tony Witham 332 points, Mervin Hettiarachchi 330 points, Sirath Kasthuriratne 292 points, Suhayb Sangani 249 points. Ladies Championship: Winner of the Grand Prix: Niloo Jayatilleke 528 points, Runner-up: Suwen Selvaratnam 492 points, Indira Tibblins 399 points (second runner-up). Other top finishers: Roshni Sangani 216 points, Chathuri Engman 276 points. Mens 'B' division: Grand Prix winner: Chamil Wickremasinghe 1059 points, Runner-up: Ananda Manawadu 765 points. Other finishers among the top ten: Veinert Holm 672 points, Poul Rasmussen 660 points, Sampath Hemachandra 655 points, Sidath Hemachandra 620 points, Peter Bright 543 points, Majid Awn 479 points, Mike Emmot 422 points, Dr. Alex Perera 376 points. |
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