Welikada Prisons - overall athletic champions

S.M. Jiffrey ABDEEN Kandy Sports Correspondent

Welikada Prisons won the Overall and the Women's Championships while the Bogambara Prisons carried away the men's championships at the All Island Inter Prisons Athletic meet organised by the Department of Prisons' Sports Club and worked off at the Bogambara Stadium in Kandy.

Heavy rain fell on both days of the meet and the ground conditions were wet and soggy but this did not dampen the spirits of the competitors who had gathered from thirty departments from all over the island including Jaffna, Batticaloa and Vavuniya in competing the 118 events which were worked off successfully. Credit should go to the Secretary of the Prisons Department Sports Club Chandana Ekanayake, the Superintendent of Prisons Bogambara Gihan Kulatunga, Superintendent of Open Prisons Pallekelle Tissa Jayasinghe and Chief Jailor Remand Prisons U. Tennakoon for giving a helping hand in the success of this championship.

Commissioner General of Prisons Major General V.R. Silva and Mrs. Shanthini de Silva were the Chief Guests with Gamini Jayasinghe, Lakshman Wickremasinghe and others were the guests of honour and participated in the awards ceremony.

Welikada Prisons with 208 points won the women's championship while Bogambara Prisons with 146 points finished champions in the men's category. Welikada Prisons with 315 points ended up as overall champions.

The Best Athletes in the respective age groups were:

Women 55 to 59 years: A.S. Sriyananda Bawan (Vavuniya)

Women Age 50 to 55 years: K.M.V.B.K. Kulatungha (Mahara).

Women 50 to 54 years: S.B.W. Pushparani (Welikada)

Men 50 to 54 years: K.A.N. Keerthi (Kalutara Prisons).

Women 45 to 59 years: P.C. Iranganie (Bogombara), Men 45 to 49 years: R.M.R.W.A. Ruwansiri (Colombo Remand Prisons).

Men 40 to 44 years

P.L. Pethiyagoda (Bogambara Prisons), Men 50 to 54 years Joint Champions, S.P. Weerasinghe (Magazine Prisons), K. Chandrakumar (Batticaloa Prisons),

Women 35 to 39 years Joint champions: C.J. Willamuna (Bogambara Prisons), (S. Saman Erandathie (Wariyapola Prisons)

The Invitation girls schools relay was won by Mahamaya Girls College, Kandy and the boys relay was won by St. Anthony's College, Katugastota.