Athletic coach par excellence who attained Olympic heights
Yogananda Wijesundara, the iconic athletic coach, who remained humble till he parted
The funeral of renowned athletic coach and a former Director of Sports Science Institute of the Ministry of Sports Yogananda Wijesundara will take place this evening Arambegama Cemetery in Pilimathalawa at 5 p.m. today. Wijesundara passed away on Thursday after a brief illness. He was 75 at the time of his death.
An outstanding athletic coach, sports administrator, and lecturer with extensive knowledge of sports and society both locally and internationally, Wijesundara was an iconic figure in Sri Lanka athletics. Fondly called by his students as ‘Yoga Sir’ and his peers as ‘Yoga’, Wijesundara has taught a number of medal-winning athletes for Sri Lanka.
A product of Eheliyagoda Central College, Yogananda Wijesundara emerged as a fine volleyball player and an athlete during the 60s. After some time, he quit volleyball and excelled in the 110-metre hurdles. His coaching career began in 1972 when he was appointed as a Sports Officer, being stationed in Bandarawela.
He has worked for over 40 years at the Ministry of Sports and the National Institute of Sports Science, producing more than 40 athletes at national and international level including Olympians.
Thilaka Jinadasa, Jayamini Ileperema, Chandani Jayaweera, Dileema Petersen, I.P. Sumithra, Patricia Clement, Padmakumara Amarasekera and Manjula Rajakaruna are some of the leading athletes who came under the wing of Wijesundara. In addition, he has created a number of Diploma holders through the National Institute of Sports Science and has been instrumental in promoting the institute as the foremost sports academy in the country. He became the first director of the organisation.
“Just because you set a national record or win international competitions, no one can become a good coach in any sport.”
“Most coaches today (especially athletics) have little or no practical or theoretical knowledge of training methods. It is evident that some of the so-called coaches seem to be merely duplicating what they see on the internet or the training methods of some other coach,” said Yogananda Wijesundara in an interview recently.
“Today every sporting achievement in the world today is motivated by money. Even though sportsmen and women and coaches may achieve short cuts to success, it may not last for long,” said Wijesundara who obtained a Sports Diploma from Leipzig University, in Leipzig, Germany.
A former national coach himself before his coaching career was cut short after suffering from an eye ailment. Wijesundara was on par with K.L.F. Wijedasa, the most senior and distinguished athletic coach living in the country, the late Lakshman de Alwis, the late Brigadier Parry Liyanage, the late Derwin Perera and S.M.G. Bandara.
The remains of Yogananda Wijesundara, a father of three, are currently lying at No. 298/2, Iddewela, Pilimatalawa.