Rohan Sirisena leads Sri Lanka at 3rd Lusofonia Games in Goa, India
Top ranked table tennis player of Sri Lanka, Rohan Sirisena is leading a contingent of 91, out of which 66 are athletes, for the 3rd Lusofonia Games which began in Goa, India yesterday. The 10-day sporting extravagansa, held among 12 Portuguese Commonwealth countries is expected to attract over 700 athletes.
Part of the Sri Lankan contingent have already reached Goa by groups and more are expected to join the Lusofonia Games as it
Rohan Sirisena (Captain)
progresses. However the opening ceremony of the Games took place yesterday at the Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium in Fatorda, South Goa with the participation of 2,000 performers who put up a display of exhilarating folk performances from Goa and other parts of India.
Sirisena, his fellow table tennis players and the Sri Lanka beach volleyball team reached Goa on Friday while the athletics, judo, taekwondo, and wushu squads are expected to leave the island tomorrow. Among the squads football will be represented by a group of 20 players while the athletic squad consists of 18 youngsters. Eight will include in the beach volleyball squad. Five paddlers will be among the contingent. Five athletes each will represent Sri Lanka in taekwondo and wushu while two will compete in judo.
In addition Sri Lanka had the opportunity of fielding a basketball team but had not taken much interest as they had very little or no time for preparations. According to reports the absence of the cagers has prompted the organisers to give the Sri Lankan footballers the opportunity.
According to calculations Sri Lanka will stomach a total expenditure of Rupees 8.1 million for the Lusofonia Games. However the organisers, with the intention of drawing more participation, have allocated a grant of US$ 30,000 for Sri Lanka.
From the total Sri Lankan contingent 25 are officials. Chandana Perera, the assistant treasurer of National Olympic Committee and former president and general secretary of Table Tennis Association of Sri Lanka, has been appointed as the Chef de Mission. Pushpamali Wijayanayake will be the lady chaperon of the contingent.
Sri Lankan contingent to Lusofonia games
Athletics, basketball, beach volleyball, football, judo, table tennis, taekwondo, volleyball and wushu are the sports disciplines that will be featured at Lusofonia Games, which runs until January 29 at six stadiums in Goa. A total of 95 events will be held altogether. The games will be held at Fatorda Stadium in Margoa, GMC Complex in Bambolim, Goa University in Taleigoa, Tilak Maidan Stadium in Vasco da Gama, Coberta Stadium in Peddem and the Miramar Beach in Panaji, within the proximity of Goa.
Besides Sri Lanka, Angola, Brazil, Cape Verde, East Timor, Equatorial Guinea, Guinea-Bissau, Goa, Macau, Mozambique, Portugal and Sao Tome and Principe are the countries that will participate. India is represented as Goa while China will compete as Macau.
Lusofonia Games, previously held in Macau, China and Lisbon, Portugal is among the largest multinational sports events in the world. It is organised by ACOLOP, the Association of the Portugese Speaking Olympic Committees, specifically those belonging to the Community of Portuguese Language Countries (CPLP) and other countries with significant Portuguese communities or shared a common past with Portugal.