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| Sunday, 15 February 2004 |
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Conrad Francis should win many Golds The brothers - Arun Karunaratne (SSC) who is presently training in Australia and Naveen Karunaratne (SSC) and two sisters Prabha Madhavi Dharmadasa and Uma Kavya Dharmadasa both of Musaeus College are amongst the 21 swimmers selected to swim at the 9th edition of the South Asian Federation (SAF) Games to be held from March 29 to April 7 in Islamabad, Pakistan. This is the first occasion that two sets of brothers and sisters are participating in any sport for Sri Lanka at the same time. The 21-member team was selected by the Selection Committee of NASU after trials held at the Sugathadasa Stadium swimming pool last month. Arun Karunaratne who is coached by Ian Pope - the Australian National Back Stroke coach faced the trial and won all five events and also reached the NASU set timings. Meanwhile Conrad Francis training in Australia under Mark Thompson another Australian national coach in Victoria did not participate in the trial but was an automatic choice after winning two gold medals at the Asian Age Group Swimming Championships held in August last year. Conrad is presently swimming for Nunawading Swimming Club, Forest Hill, Victoria. The inclusion of Conrad and Arun will bolster the chances of Lankans at the Games. Conrad Francis is also selected as the swimming captain for the Games. According to reliable sources, he is tipped to be the overall captain of the Sri Lankan contingent. The swimmers will train at the Sugathadasa Stadium swimming under E. G. A. Wilson, National coach. The names of the swimmers have been submitted to the Ministry of Sports, the National Olympic Committee and the National Sports Council for approval. It is also understood that the Ministry of Sports and the National Olympic Committee will not be in a position to fund the team in its entirety due to the severe financial crisis they are faced with. The 9th SAF swimming squad: Men: Conrad Francis (St. Joseph's Swimming Club), Arun Karunaratne (SSC), Asela Pradeep (Unattached), T. K. S. Weerakoddy (Panadura SC), Eranga Fernando (Rainbow SC), K. V. S. Priyadarshana (Sri Lanka Air Force), Govinda Tidball (Unattached), Raghvan Madawala (S. Thomas' College), Heshan Hulugalla (Trinity College), Dharshaka Tennakoon (Ananda College), Naveen Karunaratne (SSC), Milinda Wickremasinghe (St. Joseph's College). Women: Prabha Madhavi Dharmadasa and Uma Kavya Dharmadasa (both of Musaeus College), Menaka de Silva (Rainbow AC), Chathuri Abeykoon (Ladies College), Miniruwan Samarakoon (Gateway International School Kandy), Dilini Liyanage (Ladies College), Devinka Gunathilaka (Bishop's College), Piumi Ekanayake (Sirimavo Bandaranaike BV), Mihiri Kandanarachchi (Mahamaya College Kandy). (L.F.) |
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