Sport
Kandy has established a proud record of producing some of the top most sports people in Sri Lanka for a wide range of sports such as rugby union, cricket, football, swimming, hockey, athletics, table tennis, boxing, swimming, basketball, golf and even baseball, which has only been introduced into Kandy recently. Kandy has produced national captains of cricket and rugby, and athletes that play at the highest level of all sports.
Unlike the rest of the country rugby union is the most popular sport in the region. This is because of the local rugby union club, Kandy Sports Club being the reigning Club Rugby Champions in the national league for almost a decade, as well as the fondness and support the local schools treat the sport with. The Singer Sri Lankan Airlines Rugby 7's tournament is an annual international rugby union event held at the local Bogambara Stadium, attracting nations from all over the world.
Cricket is widely played in Kandy with the city having three first class teams in the Premier Trophy, Saracens, Kandy CC and Kandy Youth Cricket Club, as well as being the main city for the Sri Lankan Premier League side Kandurata Kites. Kandy is host to the Sri Lanka national cricket team with two Test status grounds, Asgiriya International Stadium and the newly built state of the art Pallekele International Cricket Stadium. Both stadiums have held World Cup matches.
Sports like Hockey, volleyball, the national sport of Sri Lanka, and Association football however has not taken off in Kandy as much as other sports, due to the lack of proper playing fields, funding and support and Cue games like billiards and snooker have hardly anyone playing. However Basketball, Table tennis, badminton and even swimming are popular due to the high participation of students and schools.
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Famous quotes containing the word sport:
“Americans living in Latin American countries are often more snobbish than the Latins themselves. The typical American has quite a bit of money by Latin American standards, and he rarely sees a countryman who doesn’t. An American businessman who would think nothing of being seen in a sport shirt on the streets of his home town will be shocked and offended at a suggestion that he appear in Rio de Janeiro, for instance, in anything but a coat and tie.”
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—Northern Irish Tourist Board. quoted in New Statesman (London, Aug. 29, 1969)