Sumo Wrestling comes to Sri Lanka
Arrangements are being made to introduce Sumo Wrestling islandwide by the Sri Lanka Sumo Wrestling Association (SLSWA).
To date, 4 Provinces and 1 District have embraced the sport. They are Western, Sabaragamuwa, Central and Eastern and, with great success, in the Jaffna District.
There are about 175 men and 75 women Sumo Wrestlers in the island at present. Some schools too have embraced the sport.
There are 4 coaches, including a national coach, at present in Sri Lanka. There are about 30 Sumo clubs in the island and about 20 of them are registered with the SLSWA.
Former Sumo Wrestler Lasantha Gunewardena, is the National Coach. According to him, youngsters are ever ready to embrace the sport. Sumo Wrestling is thriving in about 80 countries worldwide. There are 3 South Asian countries familiar with the sport. They are Sri Lanka, Pakistan and India. Sri Lanka is No.1 at present. The sport spread in India because of Sri Lankan coaches visiting the sub-continent.
“With Sri Lanka leading the way, more South Asian countries are expected to get involved in the Sport, in order to pave the way for a South Asian competition,” revealed Gunewardena to the Sunday Times.
Lasantha Gunewardena is the only Sri Lankan to take part in an international Sumo competition. In 2014, Lasantha took part in an international contest in Chinese Taipei, where he came 5th amongst Asian countries.
Noticing his performance, the Japanese Sumo Federation donated around Rs 15 lakhs worth of Sumo goods, in order to promote the Sport in Sri Lanka. Lasantha then got the opportunity to visit the United States of America (USA) to take part in a 42-day coaching session. With the experience he gained in the USA, he is now the National Sumo Wrestling coach.
Sri Lanka’s No.1 Sumo Wrestler is Sports journalist Chamila Karawita. Chamila has, to date, taken part in 3 international competitions. In 2015, he took part in the World Sumo Wrestling Championship in Osaka, Japan, where he took 8th spot. In 2016, he took part in the US Open and the Mongolia World & Asian championships. In the US Open he was placed 5th. In Mongolia he failed to gain a spot but, in the Asian Championships held in parallel with the Mongolia World, he was placed 4th.
For the first time a National Sumo Wrestling Championship was held in Sri Lanka on Wednesday (Jan.25) at the Central YMCA, Colombo, where Chamila Karawitha, representing Mathugama Sports Club, won the Open category, and was selected Best Sumo Wrestler.
Chamila is a past pupil of Mathugama Ananda Sastralaya and represented his school at Cricket.
At the Sumo Nationals this year, Sri Lanka Air Force and Sri Lanka Navy emerged Joint Men’s Champions.The Women’s championship was won by Sri Lanka Air Force, while the Junior Championship (Boys & Girls) was won by Parakrama Vidyalaya, Kandy. U. Isuranga and Melani Hemantha were selected Best Sumo Wrestlers. In the Open event, Achela Fernando of the SLAF was adjudged Best Female Sumo Wrestler.
On May 20, 21 this year, the USA Open Sumo Wrestling Championship will take place, and according to the performances at the Nationals, the SLSWA is making arrangements to send a Men and a Women team for the event. With this in view, a National pool has been set up with 24 men and 24 women currently undergoing training. However, Sumo Wrestling is not a registered Sport with the Sports Ministry, as it has not completed 5 years in the island.