Bodybuilder Prasanna did country proud
by Tyrell Peiris
Sri Lanka’s sailor boy Prasanna
Peiris has hogged the limelight as never before. For, he is the Mr.
Hercules of Sri Lanka bodybuilding and a mite ahead of most
international competitors having landed the silver medal in the 65 kg
weight category at the 63rd World Bodybuilding Championships 2009 held
in Doha, Qatar recently.
For a product of the village hailing from Mattumagala, Ragama, who
grew up on the rural diet like ‘ala’, ‘batala’, ‘del’ and ‘kos’ (yams,
jack and breadfruit), 41-year old Prasanna has certainly done his
country proud having beaten top class competitors from such countries
like the USA, South Africa, Italy and Canada that included some 90
bodybuilders.
In winning the coveted silver medal Prasanna engaged in a close
contest with Nazar Mohamed of Egypt who was the ultimate winner. What is
so remarkable about the village boy’s achievement is that he did it in
the twilight of his career. In fact, Prasanna took to bodybuilding at
the age of 24, but it was quite a long wait before he could smile about
a world class achievement. Prasanna told the ‘Sunday Observer’ magazine
that he was delighted at this feat because it was something that put his
country on top in that field.
And it did not come on a platter. It was a hard grind having
struggled to find employment before entry to the Navy opened the gates
to success for him. It was the Sri Lanka Navy that helped him find
employment in Doha, Qatar where he found employment as a physical
trainer. That was after serving six years with the Navy. The greener
pastures in Qatar helped Prasanna to further develop his career training
five days in the week.
A father of two sons, Prasanna, who schooled at Karunaratne M.V.,
Mattumagala first made an impact locally winning major tournaments that
saw him get his first international break when he took part at the 8th
Commonwealth Championships in Malaysia in the 60 kg weight category.
During his stay in Doha Prasanna dominated the bodybuilding scene
over there emerging the Gulf champion throughout his stay in that
country.
Some of his other major achievemnts were - 4th at SAF Games in India
1999, 8th at Asian Championships in Hong Kong in 1999, silver at 2001
South Asian Championships in the Maldives.
He is ever thankful to the Sri Lanka Navy and his principal sponsor
Ibrahim Allah who had supported him to reach international heights. |
