Hard work brings rich dividends for Kandy Sports Club

By Hafiz MARIKAR

RUGBY: Kandy Sports Club's great rise in rugby - The glamour boys of the local rugby scene, are once again on the trail to give off their best in the coming season. It is important to be aware that other clubs have focused much on development and it's bound to offer stiff opposition with rival teams such as CR & FC, Navy SC, and Air Force SC who fared well in 2010 also capable of offering stiff competition.

In local club rugby, no club has brought so much rugby fame and honour as Kandy Sports Club. In the rugby tournaments played, they have been the best in the country. Rugby lovers have seen Kandy Sports Club winning the league 16 times out of 19 tournaments, out of which on ten occasions triple champions in the recent past. With a fine record like this, they will vie for the three trophies which are on offer this year as well, provided the tournament format and management is not bias.

It has been the dedication of the players, commitment and discipline they follow are contributing factors and the backing from the committee, is what really makes them a formidable force in rugby.

Kandy Sports Club team in the coming season, will be led by utility player Saliya Kumara and this will be confirmed on 23rd at the Annual General Meeting.

Saliya, as he is popularly known, started his rugby at Vidyartha College and later played for Trinity College. His first stint at club rugby was with Havelocks Sports Club and later CH & FC, and now he is back to his home town club.

He will have some of the finest ruggerits in the country like Fazil Marija, Sean Wijesinghe, Pradeep Liyanage, Senaka Bandara, Sanjeewa Jayasinghe, Budhika Thalagampola, Gayan Weeraratne, Darshan Ettipolla, Mohamed Jabar, Kishore Jehan, Achala Perera, Sajith Saranga, Mohamed Sherif, K.S.N. Silva, Aravinda Udangawa, Sashika Jayawardene, Prasad Chathuranga, Roshan Weeraratne, Chamara Vithanage 'new comer' Keith Gurusinghe to name a few.

Kapuwatte to head club

Dr. Sarath Kapuwatte, the former Thomian, is tiped to head the club again. He will be all smiles to see the club doing well for yet another season. He said that " We've got a great season ahead of us, I am sure the boys will give off their best. The untiring efforts of Malik Samarawickrema - former President SLRFU and philanthropist, who has been a tower of strength since 1992 at Kandy Sports Club, both personnel and financial.

Kandy Sports Club should recognize the excellent work done by coach Johan Taylor, a South African who moved over to Ireland and now is in Sri Lanka on a coaching assignment with KSC since 2007. He came in during the time of Izwan Omar's secretaryship. Rugby Chairman Lasantha Wijesuriya, team Manager Kapila Silva, masseur Mobi Perera and team attendant S. Kumar and in particular the most adorable livewire of the club Malik Samarawickrema have given their best to make this club a champion outfit annually.

Kandy Sports Club has a long history. Founded in 1874 by a group of pioneer coffee planters, they were then known as the Kandy Athletic, Boating, Cricket and Dancing Club. The name to Kandy Sports Club changed and their activities were Football, Cricket, Rugger, Hockey, Athletics and Polo.

Committee worked hard

During that time the Bogamabara grounds was the home of Kandy Sports Club, for many years. The club house then built was taken over by the military authorities in 1939 during the 2nd World War. Later the building was requisitioned for the General Hospital.

In 1949 the garbage dumping land at Nitawella was leased to the club by the Kandy Municipal Council and by 1954 due to the keen efforts of the committee members, within no time the ground was given and the club house was built, and Nittawela became the permanent residence of the Kandy Sports Club.

Nittawela's rise coincides with the rise of Kandy SC as the super power of local rugby. From being a team that merely made up the numbers, 50s through the 80s.

It had scooped just about every thing on the prize table, more than one cares to count. If the giant in Kandy SC hadn't awakened, in the early 90s, the Nittawela landscape might well have remained that old snap shot. The transformation of Kandy Sports Club into a perennially champion outfit is a threadbare story.

Suffice to say, it was initiated by a decision of a few players to quit the CR & FC, over a captaincy dispute and move to Kandy SC. Traditionally, the movement had been downhill.

Kandy players haved moved to Colombo mostly for employment. Now however, much of the traffic of talent is headed uphill, an unthinkable scenario for nearly a half - century. There is a man called Malik Samarawickrema. He was one time scrum half (for Royal, CR & FC and Sri Lanka) and a successful coach. However that pedigree had little to do with reversing the flow of talent.

Malik helps Kandy

It was the successful entrepreneur's decision to expand his garment manufacturing business in Kandy. He threw in his lot with Kandy SC, nothing quite as fortunate as this has ever happened to Kandy SC in all its 134 years. A much travelled man and abreast with world trends, Malik knew how successful rugby clubs are run elsewhere. He put in place the fundamentals to convert Kandy SC into professionalism.

Much has been invested in Nittawela's conversion to an International stadium. But given the corporate-style administration of Kandy SC, it is difficult to think that plans to recoup the investment have not been worked into the project - so that finances would become available for the next phase of Nittawela's development.

A walk through Nittawela stadium will show other income-earning facilities, like a franchised cafeteria, modernised bar, advertising bill boards, swimming pool social events, recreation events, gathering the sports loving public to participate in entertainment programs and the club to be more flexible to encourage activity programs and draw the crowds to Nittawela.

An opinion from a Honorary Life Member Iswan Omar, one time Secretary, Vice President and Committee Member who also led the side in 1975. A keen spectator who follows local rugby with great interest has helped the club to move forwards.

He got lot of pleasure out of being involved with the "Singer-SriLanka Airlines Sevens" over a long period and has been a great worker.