Two major events, Beach Football and Beach Volleyball in the men’s and women’s categories of the Hambantota Beach Games, came to a close yesterday. The tournament was organised for Hambantota Youth, to draw them into Beach Sports.
Hungama Vijaya SC came out with a great comeback to defeat Carlton SC in a three-setter (21-9, 11-21, 16-14) to walk away with the Men’s Championship Beach Volleyball title.
Meanwhile, in the Women’s section, Hambantota Carlton SC, playing against Vijayaba National School, Hungama, had straight-set-win (17-7, 15-9) to bring honour for games hosts, Hambantota. The women’s volleyball title saw fewer teams taking part.
Fifty-four teams battled for the men’s football title, and the Beach Boys, led by Isuru Siriwardena, were seen taking control of the game from beginning to end; they won the title by beating Kirinda Jolly Boys SC two goals to one. The organisers had to face many difficulties, especially in handling the draws, which caused many delays. The final match was concluded at 3:00 a.m. on Sunday morning, which could be considered a new record for any sport held there.
The winner and runners-up in both categories received Championship Trophies and cash awards. For the women’s category, the cash awards presented were Rs.20,000, Rs.15,000, Rs.10,000, and Rs. 5,000, respectively; while the men received Rs.35,000, Rs.25,000, Rs.15,000, and Rs.10.000.
The Sports Minister was the chief guest at the opening ceremony, along with irrigation Minister Chamal Rajapaksa and Hambantota Mayor-Council Chairman Eraj Ravindra Fernando. On the final day, MC Chairman Eraj Ravindra Fernando was the Chief Guest and distributed the Awards.
The Hambantota Beach Games, the first part of the ‘Fit Sri Lanka Programme’, which is a concept introduced by newly-elected Sports and Youth Affairs Minister Namal Rajapaksa a few months ago, became a reality on Sunday morning, on a grand scale. These Beach Games conducted in Hambantota, saw the biggest ever crowd for Beach Games on the island.
