Colombo University kicks through all comers
View(s):Karate is one of the newest sports to enter the university games arena and Colombo University (UoC) continues to reign as champions in the sport. Since the introduction of Karate as a sport in universities, the University of Colombo’s karate team has won the Karate
Mario Ganeshathasan
Championship at three tournaments.
Their most recent achievement was at this year’s Sri Lanka University Games (SLUG), in which both the men’s and women’s teams took the lead and won 19 medals. Out of the 19 medals, 14 were Golds, three were Silvers and two were Bronze. In an interview with the Education Times, the Captain of UoC’s karate(men’s) team, Mario Ganeshathasan said karate is the only sport in the University of Colombo to achieve both men’s and women’s championships at the SLUG 2013.
“In the men’s team there are two black belt holders, one brown belt and other new but brilliant sportsmen. As for the women’s team there are two black belt holders and three brown belt holders,” he said.
He said that preparing for SLUG was hectic given the schedule they had to manage.”It is required to hold the Inter-Faculty tournament and select the winners for the university team, and it was tough scheduling training times. There were players in our team from the Science, Arts, Management and Finance, Law faculties and the School of Computing. Despite our strenuous academic curriculum we came together and did our best. We practiced four days a week, “he said.
“What led us to victory is most obviously not a single player’s efforts. We had a common goal which was to bring the “triple
championship” (Men’s, Women’s and Overall) and dedicated ourselves to perfecting our training,” he said. He said that it is unfortunate that this year karate has not been included as a sport at the World University Games held in Russia.
“If it was included, I’m confident that most of my teammates would have qualified,” he added.
University of Colombo karate team
He said karate though well-known to be a combat sport and a self-defence practice, for players it is lifestyle that helps to develop character and to work hard to achieve goals. “What attracts people to this sport is the genuine passion for it and not because it is just another popular sport. Primarily, karate has helped us to build focus and anticipate any scenario in the future, also as any sportsman or woman who is engaged in academics would know, it helps us to practice time management and prioritizing our work,” he said.
Mario, a third-year student in the Faculty of Management and a brown belt holder said that since his first year in campus, he was given the opportunity to represent the university in the inter-university arena. “Therefore the most influential aspect of karate to me is that it is a major confidence booster,” he said.
He said karate in Sri Lanka is growing rapidly at both the local and international 
level, there is a massive campaign carried out by the World Karate Federation to include karate as a Olympic sport in the 2020 Olympics. “Considering its growth in Sri Lanka, karate is becoming a sport which is available in almost every school and a popular sport among university students,” Mario added.
He was thankful for all the support received from Vice Captain Kalpa Chathuranga and the Women’s team Captain Gowri Udayangani and Vice Captain Iresha Perera for their efforts in bringing this glory to the university.
Speaking of their coach Sensei H.M Sisirakumara he said, “He is the Sri Lanka karate team coach and is simply brilliant in his techniques. You would imagine a Sensei of his calibre to be very rigid and strict but surprisingly he is anything but that. He is the calmest and coolest person I have met in my 10-year time period of learning the art of karate,” he said.
- Nadia Fazlulhaq
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