Beijing or be-jinx for Pushpakumara

By Athula Bandara

All his hopes shot down, Sri Lanka’s ace marksman Sergeant (Rtd) K.L. Aruna Udaya Pushpakumara is a broken man.

It was not so long ago he brought home a gold medal beating contestants from 67 other countries at the Asia Pacific Rifle Shooting Championships held in Malaysia. At present he is the captain and the main trainer of the Sri Lanka Rifle Shooting Team. Pushpakumara is also very keen to make to the 2008 Olympics which is scheduled to be held in Bejing, China. However the lack of proper training facilities and funds has come in as a huge stumbling block between him and the Olympics.

Besides this the 34 year-old Army Sergeant was injured in the war front and became disabled, but in spite of that Pushpakumara has not given up his first love and is determined to do well in this sport.

Unfolding a woeful experience of his Pushpakumara said that when he returned with the ‘Gold” medal on the third of December at the Katunayake Airport, there was no one to receive him. There he got on to the ‘Army Truck’ that brought the army officers who had come to collect his gun, and got off at the Airport Junction and got into a Colombo-Vavuniya bus that took him back to his village at Rajanganayaya and limped home for the rest of the journey with the aid of his crutches.

At the same time the people of the area also say that they are willing to collect a rupee each from all the colony members and give that as a part of the expenses for his tour of China if it is required.

Some of Pushpakumara’s trophies and medals. (Pix by Athula Bandara)		Pushpakumara after he sustained his injury.