The feats of history making Chathura and Danuna
Chathura about to take the waters
Sri Lanka achieved a double feat in canoeing at the Canoe Ocean Racing Asian and World Championships held in Hong Kong from November 17 to 19. Sri Lanka was represented by two individuals — Chathura Vishwajith Jayaratne, who won a rare gold medal and Danuna Tillakaratne, who successfully completed a coaching and judging course — simultaneously to the main event.
Jayaratne’s achievement was significant from the point of view of the sport, as he managed to out smart 55 top renowned athletes to claim the gold medal in the Asian Canoe Ocean Racing Championship, which was held on November 17. This was the very first occasion where a Sri Lankan has won a gold medal in canoeing, representing the country.
Jayaratne competed in the Men’s Open category, while completing his Ocean Course of 23 kimometres in 2 hours, 3 minutes and 51 seconds. From 56 athletes from across Asia, Jayaratne came on top, while Shun Shirahata of Japan claimed the silver medal. The bronze medal was won by Yanjun Chen of China.
“I was ready for this race. I knew the course from previous years, even if the different weather conditions can make a real difference. My intention was to stay calm and try to have fun in the waves if there were any. I chose not think about the end result at all but to instead to focus on one challenge at a time. The race was 23 kilometres; it was like a marathon,” a jubilant Jayaratne stated.
“At the start, I was placed around the 40th position, but by seven kilometres, I was around the sixth in the lot. After a really slow start, I gradually moved up to let my confidence grow accordingly. As my confidence grew, I moved up the positions towards the end of the race. My focus was to find comfort, steady pace, stability and easy breathing to move up. This idea of being in a comfort zone stayed with me until the end. Comfort in the effort, in my opinion is what brought me this medal,” he further explained.
Following his feat at the Asian Championship, Jayaratne went in to the World Championship in a high morale two days later. However, he accomplished what could be termed as a major stride in Sri Lanka canoeing by placing 36th among over 240 top world renowned athletes.
Besides Jayaratne’s key achievement, Tillakaratne, who represented the National Association for Canoeing and Kayaking in Sri Lanka (NACKSL), as the Team Manager, was able to successfully complete an International Canoe Ocean Racing Coaching Course, as well as an International Canoe Ocean Racing International Judge’s Course. Like Jayaratne, Tillakaratne becomes the first Sri Lankan to obtain these qualifications in canoeing.
“The tour was highly successful, with the highlight being Sri Lanka winning its first Asian Level Gold medal in canoeing. Our athlete, Chathura (Jayaratne) is a very promising prospect, and is currently being trained in Singapore by a top international coach. He requires our support in the future for further training, equipment, and to cover participation costs of international competitions,” Tillakaratne explained about the Hong Kong venture.
Danuna (L) and Chathura (R) in Hong Kong
Jayaratne is currently based in Singapore, where he trains under Denes Szaszak, a top Canoe Ocean Racing Coach from Hungary. The current assistant coach of Singapore, Szaszak, who is proud of Jayaratne’s achievement, recommends him for further training. The coach feels that Jayaratne genuinely has the potential to perform at world level.
“The achievement of Chatura Jayaratne in winning the gold at the Asian Ocean Canoe Championships, is yet another discipline and is another feather in the cap for NACKSL. He beat competitors from large countries such as China and Japan, who are deemed to be better endowed than us. All credit must go to Chathura and his Hungarian coach, Denes (Szaszak). If not for their commitment, we could not have attained these heights in the field of Ocean Kayaking. I must also thank our present team comprising Commodore Priyantha Perera – the Secretary General, Supem de Silva – the Treasurer and the Head Coaches Mihin Amarasinghe and Danuna Tillekaratne and their assistants, for their unstinting volunteering efforts in promoting the sport in Sri Lanka,” an overwhelmed Prithi Perera, the President of NACKSL stated.
Jayaratne, a past student of D. S. Senanayake College and Royal College Colombo, was awarded a scholarship to the Singapore Polytechnic in 2003 and has been based in Singapore ever since. He first took up to Dragon Boat Racing and Outrigger Canoeing before making his debut in Ocean Canoeing in 2016.