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Dr Kapuwatte breaks his own record

Dr. Sarath Kapuwatte broke his own record when he was re-elected as the President of the champion rugby club - the Kandy Sports Club at the 138th Annual General Meeting of the Club held at Nittawela recently.


Dr. Sarath Kapuwatte (on left) with Malik Samarawickrema

He was elected for the 18th time which is an overall record according to the records displayed at the club house. The most number of times held by the previously elected Presidents was around five times.

Dr. Sarath Kapuwatte had his early education at St. Thomas College, Mount Lavinia where he excelled in hockey and boxing. He comes from a well-known Kandyan family and his ancestors has been one of the earliest Diyawadana Nilame of the Sri Dalada Maligawa - the lay custodian of the Holy Tooth Relic held in great veneration by Buddhists and others world over.

Dr. Sarath Kapuwatte who has a very good practice in the city of Kandy took over position as the President of the Kandy Sprots Club at a time when the club was not doing too well and that was in 1990. The club was functioning only during certain parts of the year - that was during the inter club rugby season. It went into slumber off season. The facilities was minimal.

Though a fairly good crowd turned out for matches but the gate collections were poor as the grounds did not have a perimeter wall and gunnies were a poor substitute and the spectators made holes and watched matches without paying from the roads. Then there was the famous Nittawela hill behind the club house from which the crowds watched the matches without paying. At times the crowds from this place was a nuisance as they threw stones into the field and caused a disruption of the matches and still could away as the culprits could not be apprehended.

So all this had to be changed and apart form the gate collections the money spinner of any club is the collection from the bar which was hardly patronised at that time. If the club is to benefit from these two areas, vast changes had to be made and the facilities upgraded to attract members off season. It was with this vision that Dr. Sarath Kapuwatte started working and of course with the tacit support of the Trustee of the Club Malik Samarawickrema whose contribution to the club is legendary and could not be described in an article of this nature.

When Dr. Sarath Kapuwatte took over the Presidency of the Club, the club not only faced a financial crisis and found two sponsors in Sun Match Company Limited and Union Assurance Company Limited headed by its Branch Manager Hilmy Sulaiman. Perhaps this was the first time that the Club had found two sponsors and earlier the practice had been for the sports benefactors in the hill capital to pool in the money and meet the expenses involved in playing a match during the weekend. What else could you do with an empty kitty if the club is to survive.

As President Dr. Sarath Kapuwatte had another problem in 1991, and the future of the club playing top division rugby was in stake for the first time in its history of rugby. That year Kandy Sports Club had to play a relegation match with Petersons SC and win the match, if they are to survive in premier division.

Kandy was able to get over this hurdle and later to make giant strides. That was a crucial moment in the history of the club and if not in the history of rugby in Kandy. It was their survival from this relegation match which helped Kandy to ride high.

The excellent performances of the Club in the years which followed which gave a new dimension to rugby in the hill capital and more schools took to rugby and crowds swelled at matches with the initial arrival of ruggerites from the Fiji Islands Kitioni Ratrudradra a brilliant flanker and Bati Penaia another forceful centre. Playing Finians in the Kandy SC rugby team was a new concept and the crowds flocked to see them. They were later joined by Vallimoni Satala from Fiji a fine scrum half and Tony Greanney from New Zealand - a fine flanker. Crowds flocked to see them. That was in 1992 and the crowds flocked to see them and Kandy Sprots Club for the first time won a trophy which was the Clifford Cup. There was celebrations all-round the city by a grateful public. This was the start for the record breaking feats of the Club.

Dr. Sarath Kapuwatte was the President of the Club in is first stage from 1990-1994 for five years and the Club’s Constitution did not permit him to see re-election in 1995. After a one year lapse he was re-elected for 1997 and 1998. In 1999 he stepped down to give way to a very senior member of the club when it celebrated its 125th Anniversary but he worked tirelessly behind the scenes for the Celebrations of the Club which included and International Rugby Sevens which was later he gain recognition by the International Rugby Board (IRB) and the Asian Ruby Football Union (ARFU) too expressed great satisfaction in the manner this tournament which was called the Singer Sri Lankan International Rugby Sevens was conducted. Over the years this tournament grew up in stature till it came to its untimely death three years and it was due to no fault of the organisers.

He was again elected President for 8 consecutive years from 2000 to 2007 till ill-health dogged him and he was forced to give up as he had to travel abroad for surgery and treatment.

But being at Kandy Sports Club is some which is irresistible to this sporting doctor and he was back in the saddle as President from 2010 to 2012 and matters concerning his health seems to be secondary to him but not the activities of Kandy sports Club. He has stopped his medical practice in the City of Kandy but continues to be the President of the Club which was beset with many problems especially last season and if it had been anybody else would have made a quiet exit, citing health reasons but not Dr. Sarath Kapuwatte who likes challenges and faces them bravely.

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