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Remarkable advancement in sports
by Dinesh Weerawansa
Sri Lanka has shown a remarkable advancement in the field of
sports since gaining independence. Apart from the traditional
games, there had been a few sports here before the independence.
That too was at a comparatively less competition level and
standard.
Arjuna Ranatunga |
Sanath Jayasuriya |
Aravinda
de Silva |
But since Sri Lanka gained independence in 1948, our sports
have gone from strength to strength and that we have been able to
emerge champions at World level. One of the best achievements in
Sri Lanka sports were achieved just the same year Sri Lanka gained
independence.
Susanthika Jayasinghe |
Sriyani Kulawansa |
Duncan
White |
That came in the 1948 summer Olympic Games when Duncan White
bagged a silver in men's 440 yards hurdles. White's silver was the
first and the only medal Sri Lanka won at the Olympic Games until
2000 in which sprint queen Susanthika Jayasinghe won a bronze
medal.
Mainly due to the influence of the British rule until 1948, the
passion for cricket is evident not only in Sri Lanka but also the
whole of subcontinent India, Pakistan and Bangladesh, all former
British colonies like ours. However the cricket went amongst the
rural community in Sri Lanka with Sri Lanka gaining Test status in
1981 and more significantly, winning the World Cup in cricket 15
years later.
Sugath Tillakaratne and
Damayanthi Darsha |
Pushpamali Ramanayake and
Mali Wickremasinghe |
Winning the 1996 World Cup under Arjuna Ranatunga was one of
the greatest ever achievements in Sri Lanka sports. Ranatunga was
one of the top cricketers Sri Lanka has ever produced and his able
leadership made way for Sri Lanka to crush favourites Australia by
seven wickets in the final played in Lahore on March 17, 1996.
It was a red letter day for Sri Lanka sports with Aravinda de
Silva and Asanka Gurusinha being the architects of that sweet
success. Incidentally, Ranatunga took to politics after retirement
and is now a popular parliamentarian of the People's Alliance from
Gampaha District. Sri Lanka cricket passed many milestones under
Ranatunga's leadership. Sri Lanka's first ever Test win was
achieved in 1985, under Duleep Mendis, when they beat India by 149
runs at Sara Stadium. There have been many occasions that Sri
Lanka won one day international cricket tournaments both here and
abroad. They were equally successful in Test cricket and were
rated world No.3 a few years ago. Sri Lanka team accounts for the
highest ever totals in both Test cricket (952) and one day
international (398) cricket, a feat which would be hard to beat.
In the early 70s, Sri Lanka produced its first ever world
champion in individual sport. That was when the late M.J.M. Lafir
emerged world champion in billiards.
Sri Lankan Susanthika Jayasinghe's success in women's 200m at
the 2000 Sydney Olympic Games in Australia could probably be the
greatest ever achievement in local sports, considering the top
level competition she had and the number of over 200 countries
taking part at the world's greatest sporting event.
Jayasinghe's bronze here was Sri Lanka's first Olympic medal in
52 years and came only three years after she won women's 200m
silver medal at the 1997 IAAF World Championships in Athens.
Immediately after the Olympic triumph, Jayasinghe was rated No.3
in IAAF women's world rankings.
In track and field, Sri Lanka has been one of the notable
forces in Asia. Sri Lankans showed their class on many occasions
at the Asian Games. But the most notable performance in the past
came in 1974 Teheran Asian Games in which Sri Lanka's W.
Wimaladasa emerged undisputed sprint king, winning gold medals in
men's 400m and 4 x 400m relay.
But the first Sri Lankan gold medallist at Asian Games was high
jumper Nagalingam Ediriweerasingham in 1956. In 1970 S.L.B. Rosa
won a long distance gold for Sri Lanka. There had been a lean
patch at Asian Games for Sri Lanka until Sriyantha Dissanayake
broke the hoodoo and made a revolution in Sri Lanka athletics,
winning a silver and a bronze in Beijing, 1990. But it was
Damayanthi Darsha who ended the gold drought for 24 years when she
bagged two gold medals in women's 200m and 400m at the Bangkok
Asian Games in 1998. At the same event, Sugath Tillakaratne won
men's 400m gold and 200m bronze.
Sprinter Darsha has been the most successful ever Sri Lankan
athlete in Asian Games history winning three gold medals and a
bronze. Her fourth Asian Games medal, after the first in 1994
Hiroshima, came in Busan 2002 when she accounted for women's 400m
gold. Susanthika Jayasinghe won her first Asian Games gold in
Busan in women's 100m but missed a possible second in 200m due to
an injury.
Sri Lanka's first gold medal at a major sporting event was by
Hendricus in 1938 Empire Games, ten years before the independence.
At the 1950 Empire Games, Duncan White won another gold for Sri
Lanka in his pet event.
Apart from cricket and athletics, shooting has been one of Sri
Lanka's successful sport in international arena. Sri Lanka's first
ever gold medal at Commonwealth Games was won by our leading women
shooters Pushpamali Ramanayake and Mali Wickremasinghe in 1994.
Four years later, hurdler Sriyani Kulawansa won women's 100m
hurdles silver medal at 1998 Commonwealth Games in Kuala Lumpur.
Sri Lanka has emerged champions at Asia Cup netball tournament
twice and has shown a reasonable form in international arena. In
1995 Sri Lanka won the SAARC Gold Cup soccer tournament, beating
India. Sri Lanka has done well in tennis, especially our junior
players have shown great form and have come out with success in
number of international tournaments.
Sri Lanka's best show in swimming came at the 1991 SAF Games in
which Julian Bolling and Deepika Chanmugam made a clean sweet with
a rich harvest of gold medals. Their performance was coupled with
the success of our athletes as hosts Sri Lanka won a record number
of 44 gold medals at the 1991 SAF Games in Colombo. Sri Lanka has
fared reasonably well in boxing, badminton and a few other sports
but they have not been able to go beyond Asian level.
Overall, Sri Lanka could be proud of what they have achieved in
the field of sports, considering the facilities, coaches,
infrastructure, population and modern training facilities they
have. If we develop these factors, our sportsmen and women should
be able to bring more glory.
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