Rumeshika thunders to Tarbet triumph
View(s):Rumeshika Ratnayake of St. Joseph’s Girls’ School Kegalle was one of the top female athletes to dominate the recently concluded 83rd Sir John Tarbet Senior Athletics Championship, which was held at the Sugathadasa Stadium in Colombo.
Rumeshika (17) broke the national records in Girls’ 100m event and the Girls’ 200m event, while going on to clinch the Best Athlete award at the competition. She is one of the potential talents hand-picked by the Rural Athlete Sponsorship Programme conducted by
Rumeshika Ratnayake (centre) with her colleagues from Janashakthi’s Rural Athlete Sponsorship Programme
Janashakthi Insurance in 2012. Rumeshika was drafted into the programme upon A.D. Nandawathi’s recommendation. Rumeshika is one of the talented sprinters trained under Nandawathi.
In addition to Rumeshika, four other athletes from the same programme displayed their might at the 83rd Sir John Tarbet Senior Athletic Championship, which was organised by the Sri Lanka Schools Athletics Association.
“It is great to keep winning and I’m grateful to my coach Mrs. A.D. Nandawathi and Janashakthi Insurance for their constant support and guidance,” she said.
The programme supports young athletes not only financially but also with technical guidance and motivational programmes.
Besides Rumeshika, Samith Lakmal also established a new meet record in the Boy’s Under-18 200m event while Asian silver medalist Akila Ravishanka won the Boy’s 110m hurdles event by a considerable margin. Returning to competitive running after a lapse of six months due to an injury and academic commitments, Shivanthi Ratnayake won the Girls’ Under-20 400m event. In addition Malin Udayakumar won the Boy’s long jump event while securing second place in the Boy’s Under-20 110m hurdles event. All these athletes are part of Janashakthi’s Rural Athlete Sponsorship Programme.
According to the initiative’s officials, the selected athletes receive a monthly sponsorship and incentive payments based on their individual performances through the Janashakthi Rural Athlete Sponsorship Programme. – NA
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