Wijesinghe faces definite ban

By HarshaAmarasinghe

Sri Lanka’s place kicking sensation Thilina Wijesinghe faces a hefty ban having tested positive for a banned substance.

Kandy full-back has been a consistent performer in the Inter-Club League Rugby Tournament for the last few years which paved the way for him to wear the national jersey in both the formats, but the former Dharmaraja star could now be banned for a year at least.

Despite scoring two phenomenal tries against Army Sports Club in the third week of the league, Wijesinghe was surprisingly not a part of the Kandy squad for the Police game last week. However, it was later revealed that Wijesinghe is ineligible to take part in any competitive games until the conclusion of his ongoing inquiry over doping.

A source close to Sri Lanka Rugby (SLR) revealed that Wijesinghe is thought to have taken a particular substance about six months ago, which has only been identified when he had to undergo the tests while representing Sri Lanka national rugby team a few weeks ago.

The source further claimed that Wijesinghe has already accepted to have ‘taken the pills.’

“This was detected during one of the tests that SLR has for national players and the player has already accepted that he has taken these pills. There is already an inquiry about this matter and only after that would SLR be able to make an official statement about the player and the possible length of his ban, but in general it could be one or two years,” the source added.

Meanwhile, a spokesperson from Kandy Sports Club told “Daily Mirror” that they have still not received anything official about the player and that they are waiting until the end of the inquiry.

“To be frank we have very little knowledge about the incident in relation to one of our players (Wijesinghe), as at now all we know is that there is an inquiry and only after that we’d be able to learn what is going to happen,” the spokesperson said.

Wijesinghe’s absence could cause some concerns to Kandy Sports Club who are in search of their 21st league title, especially given his brilliance as a place kicker. However, the signing of TharindaRatwatte looks even more valuable as things stand at present. Ratwatte has been a regular place kicker for Trinity College, Sri Lanka Juniors and CR and FC; it would do well for Kandy to allow Tharinda to take over the kicking reigns for the rest of the season at least with a little help from captain Nigel Ratwatte.