Struggle of a swimming champ in hunt for Commonwealth glory
Every dark cloud has a silver lining may come as the most appropriate phrase to describe champion swimmer Akalanka Peiris’ journey after being excluded from the Tokyo Olympics last year. The Tokyo Olympic snub was a bitter pill to swallow for the 22-year-old youngster, as his great dream was shattered momentarily.
Knowing his ability to overcome challenges, the swimming fraternity of the country knew that it was just another challenging period in his glittering career that has brought glory to his motherland on numerous occasions.
“Participating in the Olympics is the ultimate dream for an athlete. I was confident that I would be able to secure a place in the Tokyo Olympics, but unfortunately I was excluded and obviously I was shattered. It motivated me to bounce back stronger and I always believe in the phrase failures are the pillars of success. My exclusion from the Tokyo Olympics taught me an invaluable lesson. That enabled to refocus on my journey to greatness,” Akalanka revealed.
During this period, he gave priority to both his physical and mental fitness to make sure that he was well prepared for last year’s World Championships in Abu Dhabi. Having watched the Olympics on television, the young former Peterite had the burning desire to prove himself at the international level as the qualification trials for the Commonwealth Games and World Championships were on the horizon.
With the consistent support from his family and his coach Shehaan Dias, Akalanka was able to overcome all challenges and the fact was that he had participated in a short course swimming meet after a gap of two years.
Acclimatising to the weather conditions in Abu Dhabi was a challenge, especially the sweltering heat. Despite all the debacles he was among the top 50 swimmers in the world and he was ranked 37th at the conclusion of the World Championships. Describing on his success in Abu Dhabi, Akalanka had expressed his concern regarding the hindrances that they have gone through to take the sport to the next level.
He, along with his fellow swimmers, have been denied and deprived of international standard swimming pools and even the some essential facilities which are required to be familiar with equipment such as the ledge which is a vital component for backstrokes to get a strong start.
It has been six months since the World Championships concluded, but the authorities have not taken prompt action to facilitate national swimmers with the necessary facilities which has been a great burden for the athletes to perform at international level.
Akalanka, who has been to several international championships since 2013, highlighted that dire need of facilitating the local swimmers to get familiar with the techniques and the equipment, if the athletes are to do justice to their capabilities when they get on to the international stage.
The champion swimmer who owns six national records, said that the last six months have been a rollercoaster ride. Fortunately Akalanka was able to prove that he had the hunger to succeed when he managed to break his own national record, last week.
Recalling the achievement, Akalanka noted that even though he had been able to achieve such a rare feat, he did it under difficult circumstances as he wore an old jammer which doesn’t have the carbon effect that is not ideal for a national event.
The champion swimmer who was competing in the Open age category, recorded an impressive timing of 26.24 seconds, bettering his previous national record of 26.27 set in 2019. As he prepares for the Commonwealth Games, Akalanka was also engaged with various other activities. It was during this time that he became a lifesaver. He participated at the National Lifesaving Championships 2022, only to bag three gold medals. He was also crowned as the ‘Super Lifesaver’ as well. Akalanka paid his gratitude to Asanka Nanayakkkara and the team for giving the opportunity.
Leading in to the trails for the Commonwealth Games, he continued his dominance at the national level and reaped the rewards for his perseverance that he has shown despite all the debacles that had caused him distress in the recent past. Eventually he secured his place in the Commonwealth Games in Birmingham.
The 50-metre Backstroke will be his main event at the Commonwealth Games this time. He was supposed to participate at the World Championships which is to be held in Budapest, Hungary from June 17 to July 3, but unfortunately he is unable to participate, as he couldn’t obtain the visa on time.
Despite the unfortunate incident, he remains motivated to bring joy to Sri Lanka and make his motherland proud at the Commonwealth Games, which is his ultimate goal.