The year 2016 has been a year of triumph in sport, both locally and internationally. It was a year where new champions were born, new heights were conquered and was also a year of farewell and adieu.
Here are the top 20 moments of 2016 captured by ThePapare.com.
1 Angelo Mathews swept the Dialog Cricket Awards
The Sri Lanka captain, all-rounder Angelo Mathews grabbed the spotlight at the Dialog Cricket Awards, being crowned ‘Cricketer of the Year’ and bagging the Test and ODI All-rounder awards.
2 Matthew Abeysinghe’s in ‘Seventh Heaven’
Sri Lanka’s top swimmer Matthew Abeysinghe broke Julian Bolling’s 25 year old record for most number of medals at the South Asian Games, winning 7 gold, 2 silver and a single bronze medal to make it ten medals in total.
3 Dream finish for Army
After weeks of exciting action, the Army football team defeated Renown SC to win the 2016 edition of the FA Cup 3-1. This was Army’s second title in three years.
4 Double Crown for Isipathana!
Isipathana College Rugby had a glorious 2015/16 season being crowned undefeated League and President’s Trophy Champions.
5 Triple crown back in the hills
Kandy Sports Club came back to dominance as they won the three club titles on offer for the 2015/16. The team, led by Fazil Marija, won the Inter-Club Sevens, the Dialog Rugby League and the Clifford Cup Knockouts.
6 Sri Lanka Under 20s win a first Asian Sevens Series for the country
Yes it was a first for Sri Lanka in the Asian Sevens Series and it were the Junior Tuskers who did the trick. The Sri Lanka Under 20 team, led by Kevin Dixon, were winners in the two leg Under 20 series that concluded in Hong Kong.
7 Sri Lanka’s Test whitewash
Sri Lanka whitewashed Australia in Tests to win the series 3-0. The Angelo Mathews led Lankans outplayed the Australians in the three Tests that were played at Pallekelle, Galle and SSC.
8 The Bradby was DRAWN!
For the second time in history of the Bradby Shield, the encounter was drawn after Trinity College won the second leg in Pallekelle.
9 Air Force defeats giants Kandy
The upset of the year, as the underdogs Air Force defeated Kandy Sports Club in the second week of the Dialog Rugby League 2016/17 at Air Force Grounds.
10 Royal retain the shield
Royal College Colombo came out on top of the Royal-Thomian Battle of the Blues to retain the D. S. Senanayake Shield
11 S. Thomas’ bag first ever ThePapare Basketball Championship
After a breath-taking final against St. Joseph’s College, S. Thomas’ College Mount Lavinia took home the ThePapare Schools’ Basketball Championship
12 Redemption for Musaeus
Musaeus College broke the five year hoodoo and brought home the coveted Marie Muaseus trophy defeating Ladies College.
13 Dilshan hung up his gloves
The inventor of the Dil-Scoop, Tilakaratne Dilshan called time on his career during the Sri Lanka vs Australia ODI series. Dilshan in his 15 years on the cricketing field amassed 10,290 runs and was the third Lankan batsman to surpass the 10,000 run mark in ODIs.
14 Mobitel Eagles won the Sri Lanka Super 7’s
Sri Lanka Telecom Mobitel won the inaugural edition of the Sri Lanka Super 7’s that featured the international sevens stardom. The Mobitel Eagles led by Mithun Hapugoda won the first leg and were second-runners up in the second leg, claiming the coveted title on points.
15 Silverware for Joes after 21 years
After 21 years, the St. Joseph’s College football team won the Under 19 Division I Championship defeating Holy Cross College in an exciting final.
16 Sultan of Swing made it to Sri Lanka
The legendary Sultan of Swing Wasim Akram graced the Sri Lanka Cricket awards this year, met with his contemporaries and also spent some time to help the up and coming fast bowlers of the island nation.
17 Sangakkara at the Murali Harmony Cup
The great Sangakkara made time in his busy schedule to make a trip to Jaffna to motivate some young players. He also was invited for the coin toss in the semi-finals and didn’t disappoint the fans who eagerly awaited selfies with him.
18 Sri Lanka won the Campus Cricket World Cup
Sri Lanka represented by BMS won the Red Bull Campus Cricket World Cup that was played in Sri Lanka. Business Management School led by Sri Lankan cap Niroshan Dickwella defeated the University of Liberal Arts team from Bangladesh.
19 Jayanthi Kuru Uthumpala conquers Everest
Jayanthi Kuru Uthumpala became the first ever Sri Lankan to conquer Everest. The expedition that was a joint effort alongside Johanne Peries and it was Jayanthi who made it to the summit to hoist the Lankan flag.
20 Visakha won Water polo Nationals
