Meet Sri Lankan Gold Medalists: Asanka - the golden boy of Wushu

Chris Dhambarage

WUSHU: Twenty three year old Asanka Sujimal Premaratne is another gold medallist who brought honour and fame to the country in the Wushu events at the recently concluded 10th South Asian Games worked off in Colombo.

He had a liking to the sport from his schooldays and soon mastered the art with some real hard work and determination. His parents of course were somewhat concerned about his move because their dream was to see their son become a lawyer.

Asanka Sujimal is the eldest in a family of three and he had to play a major role in looking after the family which depended entirely on carpentry work. Their main source of income came through Asanka's father Sunil Premaratne who is presently involved in carpentry work and his mother Punchi Menika is a house wife.

Asanka Sujimal who was born on April 4 in Mahawa, Kurunegala was educated at the Vijayaba Maha Vidyalaya in Mahawa, Kurunegala. Even then he was really disappointed as he failed to make it to the university following the 2003 Advanced Level examination.

But he did not lose heart and decided to enter the law college for higher studies while fulfilling his parents wishes. In the meantime he continued to follow the sport which he loved so much from his schooldays and began to make his presence felt in some of the major tournaments worked off here.

It was by accident that Asanka Sujimal entered the Wushu scene following a request from one of his relatives during school days. He made it a habit to be present at every Wushu event in his home town and turned out to be a keen follower of the sport.

He was later introduced to Mahendra Ekanayake, his first coach under whom he trained and mastered the art and technique which eventually helped him to win a gold medal at the South Asian Games. Asanka Sujimal paid tribute to his coach and T. B. Ekanayake who is the President of the Sri Lanka Wushu Association.

Asanka Sujimal said that the Sri Lanka Wushu Association has done a tremendous job in helping them to reach higher standards and this new sport is certain to take a different turn after the South Asian Games. In fact there were some doubts whether Wushu will be included at the South Asian Games but its President T. B. Ekanayake made certain that this sport should be included among the twenty disciplines.

At the end of the Games there were of course no regrets at all because the Sri Lankan Wushu team had put up a brilliant performance to be among the gold medal winners.

Asanka Sujimal was also grateful to his parents who had made a lot of sacrifices during his preparations for the South Asian Games.

He is presently unemployed and is also in search of a sponsor to continue his heroics in this sport which is fast becoming popular in the country.