With less than 70 days to go until the XXX Olympic and Paralympic zGames, this is a timely opportunity to reflect on the Olympic history of Sri Lanka and celebrate the immense growth of sport in this country.
The National Olympic Committee of Sri Lanka (NOCSL) was inaugurated in 1937 and recognized by the International Olympic Committee that same year, ranking as the sixth longstanding Olympic Committee in all of Asia. Today the Mission of the NOCSL is to “develop sports in Sri Lanka to be a leader in Asia, and a good competitor in the world sports arena.”
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| Susanthika Jayasinghe |
The vision of the committee is to contribute to the building of a peaceful and better world by educating youth through sport practices without discrimination and in the Olympic Spirit. In addition to sending athletes to various Games around the world, the NOCSL also provides opportunities for academic growth through its Sport Administration and Advanced Sport Management Courses, and the National Olympic Academy.
This year, on the verge of its 75th anniversary, the National Olympic Committee of Sri Lanka is looking forward to hosting various contests and celebrations around the country. The NOC will also be sending a large contingent to the 3rd Asian Beach Games taking place in June 2012 in Haiyang, China.Sri Lanka burst onto the Olympic scene in 1948 and created history with its first Games participation and first medal glory. The successful athlete was Duncan White winning a Silver medal in the men’s 400 metre hurdles. Although having trained only for a few months leading up to the Games, White broke an Olympic record and was only 0.7 seconds behind the gold medallist. That year, Sri Lanka took part in only two sports: athletics and boxing. Since then, there has been immense growth and this country has sent a delegation to every Summer Olympics in over ten different sporting disciplines, with the sole exception of the 1976 Games.
In 1988, Kosgamage Thilaka Dhammika Jinadasa, popularly known as Thilaka Jinadasa, was the first woman to represent Sri Lanka at the Olympics. Having represented the country internationally in both athletics and netball, she was known as the Golden Girl of athletics in the 1980s. Subsequently, the 2000 Sydney Olympics marked another historic time for the country as Sri Lanka sent its largest contingent to the Games, comprising of eighteen competitors. This remains the biggest Sri Lankan Olympic delegation to date. Among the Sydney athletes, Susanthika Jayasinghe shone above the rest as she captured Sri Lanka’s second Olympic medal ending a 50 year medal drought. She competed in the women’s 200 metre event and was awarded a silver medal for her performance.
History was again made in February 2010, when at the Winter Games in Vancouver, Canada, the Sri Lankan flag was broadcast live on Canadian and international television for the first time. It was carried by a group of Sri Lankans living in Canada who were motivated to showcase the flag in hopes of getting a Sri Lankan team ready for a future Winter Olympics. This country has yet to participate in a Winter Olympic Games but the NOCSL is diligently seeking options to increase opportunities for involvement in winter sports.
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| Duncan White. |
This year, the Sri Lankan team is gearing up for the 2012 Summer Olympic and Paralympic Games in London, United Kingdom. The Olympic Games will take place from 27th July to 12th August, while the Paralympics will occur 29th August through to 9th September. Sri Lanka made its Paralympic Games debut at the 1996 Games in Atlanta, with one athlete. The country has participated in every subsequent edition of the Summer Paralympics.
Currently, Sri Lanka plans to send five athletes to the Olympic Games, across four different sports.
The qualified athletes are Niluka Rushan Karunaratne (Badminton) and Anuradha Indrajith Cooray (Athletics).
Heshan Bandara Unamboowe (Swimming), Reshika Amali Udugampola (Swimming), Mangala Samarakoon (Shooting) will also compete at the Games.
Qualification is still underway and there remain a few hopeful athletes. |
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