Sports in SL hit dizzy heights Sport in Sri Lanka has reached new dimensions during the past seven years after the country finally got a leader who has a passion for sport. Never before in Sri Lanka’s history have we ever witnessed such mega infrastructure development projects aimed at building a healthy nation with a sound mind. Mahinda Rajapaksa stadium in Sooriyawewa Two brand new cricket stadia of international class were built in Sooriyawewa and Pallekele while completely redeveloping the Premadasa Stadium, spending billions of rupees to host the 2012 World Cup. The country’s cricketers have justified the investment by entering four World Cup finals at various versions of the game, apart from winning many ODIs and Tests. Sugathadasa Stadium has been the country’s only track and field stadium with an international class running track, which too has been outdated. Thanks to the President’s keenness to produce another Olympic champion, a brand new stadium multi-sports complex, which includes a top class athletic track, was built at Diyagama, Homagama. A new running track was relaid at Sugathadasa Stadium. Reconstruction work to transform the Old Racecourse to a sports stadia complex for rugby and other sports is nearing completion. All these have been made possible because President Mahinda Rajapaksa has been a great promoter of sport, giving a helping hand to talented rural sportsmen and women to enter the international arena. He and his family have a passion for sport. The new Mahinda Rajapaksa International Sports Complex in Diyagama and the international cricket stadia in Sooriyawewa and Pallekele are classic examples of his interest to take sport to village level. His passion for sport has prompted the Olympic Council of Asia to pick Sri Lanka as the host nation of the 2018 Asian Youth Games in Hambantota. President Rajapaksa was a versatile athlete during his day and later played a prominent role as President of the National Bodies for Athletics and Elle. As the President of the Athletic Association of Sri Lanka (AASL) in 1997, President Mahinda Rajapaksa played a key role in having star woman sprinter Susanthika Jayasinghe exonerated of doping charges on medical evidence. The revival of Sri Lanka Athletics, which ultimately gave Sri Lanka an Olympic medal after 52 years (in the 2000 Sydney Games) began when President Rajapaksa was heading the local Athletic governing body. First Lady, Madam Shiranthi Rajapaksa served as President of the Netball Federation of Sri Lanka. She made an immense contribution towards the promotion of netball. Pallekele International Stadium Their three sons - Namal, Yoshitha and Rohitha, excelled in rugby and all of them went on to lead S. Thomas’ College, Mt. Lavinia with distinction. The trio played in the same team - the ‘pack’, for S. Thomas’ College 1st XV Team in 2005, which could well be a record. The influence and guidance of President Rajapaksa was immense to promote sports at various levels. Sri Lanka lived upto expectations as a great sporting nation in the Asian region while making vast strides on the international scene, both here and overseas in almost every game. Despite his busy schedule, President Rajapaksa has always made it a point to witness some of the key sports events to inspire our sportsmen and women. The Sri Lanka cricket team certainly maintained their consistency and also emerged runners-up at four World Cup tournaments, including the 2010 ODI version and this year’s T20 version. Soccer in Sri Lanka took a new turn during this period with the construction of a series of fully fledged stadiums in Kalutara, Colombo, Mannar and Ampara through the courtesy of FIFA, AFC and Basel FC from Switzerland. Sri Lanka emerged runners up at the Asian Netball Championships this year after losing the final to Singapore by a mere single point. In the previous Asian championships in Malaysia, Sri Lanka emerged champions with a dazzling performance. Sri Lanka had its own share in the field of Athletics and will make its presence felt at the 17th Asian Games now in South Korea in 2014. Sri Lanka did well to bag three medals at the 2010 Commonwealth Games in New Delhi. Mahinda Rajapaksa International Sports Complex in Diyagama It was during the President’s first term in office that sprinter Susanthika Jayasinghe won the women’s 200m Bronze medal at the IAAF World Championships in Osaka, 2007. Chaminda Wijekoon created history when he won a Gold medal for his excellent performance in the men’s 1,500m at the 2010 Lusafonia Games held in Lisbon. Sri Lanka produced another World champion, this time in carrom as Nishantha Fernando emerged the men’s singles champion at last week’s World Championships held in Colombo. Sri Lanka achieved another rare feat at world level, when Prasanna Peiris bagged 65kg weight class silver medal at the 63rd World Bodybuilding Championships. In the ring sport, women boxers came into recognition with Nilmini Jayasinghe winning a Gold medal at the World championships in Petersburg, Russia. Her team mate Anusha Kodituwakku bagged a bronze medal at the Women’s Indoor Games held in Hanoi, Vietnam. In sailing, Sri Lanka won two Silver and one Bronze medal at the Commonwealth Games weightlifting championships staged in Malaysia. In rugby, Sri Lanka finished third at the Five Nations championships while winning several Sevens titles. The inspiration and motivation given by President Rajapaksa would undoubtedly help Sri Lanka’s sportsmen and women to reach greater heights in the world sports arena.