Bati Penia (also spelt as Bati Ponai; died 16 October 2024) was a Sri Lankan-Fijian rugby sevens player. He predominantly played in the role of centre three quarter during his playing career. Born in Fiji with a Fijian heritage, he went on to represent Sri Lanka national rugby sevens team in 1992. [1]
Being a Fijian, he switched allegiance on a temporary basis representing the Sri Lanka President's Sevens Team at the Cathay Pacific Hong Kong Rugby Sevens. [1] [2] He joined the Kandy Sports Club in 1992 and played alongside fellow Fijian expatriate players Kitoni Ratudrada and Willie Monny Satala for the club in tournaments including the Caltex Premier League inter-club rugby championship. [3] [1] He also shared dressing room with Sri Lankan players including Priyantha Ekanayake, L. V. Ekanayake, Imthi Marikar, Maurice Joachim and Rizvi Suhayb during his short stint with Kandy Sports Club. [1] [2]
Penia died in Fiji on 16 October 2024. His death was confirmed by Sri Lanka Rugby on its official Facebook page. [4] There were little contradictions based on how the pronunciation of his original name was reported by Sri Lanka Rugby and the Sri Lankan English daily newspaper Daily Mirror following his death. [1] Sri Lanka Rugby in its tribute post mentioned his name as Bati Penia whereas Daily Mirror reported his name as Bati Ponai. [1]
Kingswood College, Kandy is a public day and boarding school for boys in Kandy, Sri Lanka. The school educates over 3,500 students from primary to secondary levels and is staffed by more than 300 faculty members. It was founded by Louis Edmund Blaze on 4 May 1891 with the aim of providing quality education grounded in Methodist principles. Initially opened with just eleven students at Pavilion Street, the school later relocated to Randles Hill, where it continues to thrive today. Kingswood College is one of Kandy's oldest educational institutions, with a long-standing tradition of academic achievement, sports, and discipline. The school maintains a strong commitment to its Methodist ethos, fostering a holistic educational environment for boys from diverse backgrounds. It is one of the oldest schools in Kandy and is commonly known as KCK.
The Sri Lanka Sevens is an annual international rugby sevens tournament held in Sri Lanka. Sponsored by telecommunications provider Dialog, the event has been part of the Asian Sevens Series since 2015. It was founded in 1999 as the Singer Sri Lankan Airlines Rugby 7s.
Bogambara Stadium is a multi-purpose stadium in Kandy, Sri Lanka It is one of the oldest grounds in the country. Stadium is currently used mostly for Rugby matches and hosted the games of the Singer Sri Lankan Airlines Rugby 7's. It has a capacity of 30,000.
Rugby union in Sri Lanka is mainly played at a semi-professional and recreational level. It is a popular team sport with a history dating back to 1879. In 2012, according to International Rugby Board figures, there were over 160,000 registered rugby union players in Sri Lanka, making it the second largest rugby-playing nation in Asia, behind Japan.
Kandy Sports Club is a Division 'A' rugby union team, based in Kandy, Sri Lanka, competing in the Dialog Rugby League. The club has been the most successful Sri Lankan club in the Sri Lanka Rugby Championship, winning 18 league titles in the last twenty years, which is the most wins by any club since the expanded competition commenced in 1950. The club has also won twenty Clifford Cups and in the period between 1995 and 2012 the club did not lose a Clifford Cup title, although in 1998 there was no tournament and in 2006 the club withdrew from the tournament. Kandy SC had won the league title for a record nine consecutive years between 2000 and 2009.
Colombo Hockey and Football Club is a Division 'A' rugby union team based in Colombo, Sri Lanka, that competes in the Dialog Rugby League in Sri Lanka.
Havelock Sports Club is a Division 'A' rugby union team based in Sri Lanka that plays in the Dialog Rugby League. The club has a long history and rugby is the club's main sporting activity. The "Havies", as they are commonly known amongst its members, is situated in Colombo and the club's ground is known as Havelock Park. The club has produced some excellent players over the last few decades including Sri Lankan Nationals such as Michael Jayasekera, Hisham Abdeen, Graham Raux, Sanjeewa Jayasinghe and Rajeev Ganapathy. The club has struggled over the last decade to retain its players with their star performers crossing over to more star-powered clubs.
Ishak Shahabdeen is a Sri Lankan double international who represented his country in both Cricket and Hockey.
The Sri Lanka Rugby Championship, known as the Nippon Paint Inter-Club Rugby League for sponsorship reasons, is the major national rugby union club competition, held between the top Division 'A' rugby sides, in Sri Lanka. The annual home and away competition, featuring eight Division 'A' teams, has been held since 1950. The competition has been held between November and February for the last three seasons. The first round of the tournament runs for seven weekends with the final match of the first round in early January, no games are played over the Christmas holiday period. The second round also runs for seven weekends, with the final match in the beginning of March.
The Clifford Cup is the most prestigious club rugby knockout tournament in Sri Lanka, and arguably the oldest rugby tournament in Asia. The Clifford Cup commenced in 1911 and has been played continuously since 1950, having completed 79 seasons. The tournament began as a competition between the mercantile executives in Colombo and planters in the hill country.
Fazil Marija is a former rugby union player of Sri Lanka. Marija is known as one of Sri Lanka's finest rugby union players and one of Asia's best. He was the former captain of the Sri Lanka national rugby union team. Marija comes from a sporting family background, with at least 17 members through two generations having represented various Clubs, Services Teams and National Rugby teams during the past four decades. Marija hails from the hill capital Kandy.
Srinath Soori Sooriyabandara is a Sri Lankan rugby union player who currently plays for the Kandy SC in Dialog Rugby League. He represented Sri Lanka in the 15-man code between 2009 and 2014. He is also a vital part of the National Sevens Team since 2010 and was appointed as Captain of the team for the 2018 Asia Rugby Sevens Series. He usually plays at Scrum half, but due to his versatility he can also cover Fly-Half and Full-back.
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Chandrishan Perera also spelt as Chandrashan Perera was a Sri Lankan rugby union player, coach, commentator, journalist, lawyer and administrator who also served as former captain of the national side. He represented Sri Lanka rugby sevens side from 1979 to 1994 in the position of winger. He was nicknamed as Shan.
Radhika Hettiarachchi is a Sri Lankan rugby union player and coach. He captained both Sri Lanka national rugby union team and Sri Lanka national rugby sevens team. He is regarded as one of the finest rugby sevens players to have emerged from Sri Lanka and he is also nicknamed as Iron Man of Sri Lanka Rugby.
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Tharinda Ratwatte also known as Ashan Ratwatte is a Sri Lankan rugby union and sevens player who plays as a fly-half. His father Ashan Ratwatte was also a rugby union player having played for both Kandy SC and Ceylonese Rugby & Football Club. His granduncle Anuruddha Ratwatte was a politician.
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Rizvi Suhayb also spelt as Rizvie Suhayb or Rizwie Suhayb or Rizvi Suhaib was a Sri Lankan rugby sevens and rugby union player. During his playing career, he played predominantly in the position of a centre three quarter. He shot to fame and limelight for captaining his school rugby team S. Thomas' College, Mount Lavinia to title winning campaigns in 1989.