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Proud Sri Lanka athletes defy crisis to fulfil Games dreams

Published

4 years ago

2022/07/24

by Amal JAYASINGHE

Sri Lankan badminton champion Niluka Karunaratne heads to England next week to cap his Commonwealth Games career where it began — a swansong almost derailed by his bankrupt country’s bruising economic crisis.Competition organisers and Sri Lanka’s cricket board are funding the island nation’s largest-ever Games contingent, with 114 athletes flying to Birmingham in the coming days alongside coaches and support staff.

Local sports federations have been bled dry by Sri Lanka’s financial crash, leaving athletes in doubt in recent weeks over whether they would be able to compete at all.

“Sport has been our lives, it would have been a big, big disappointment,” said Karunaratne, a three-time Olympian who has appeared at every Commonwealth Games since his debut as a teenager at Manchester in 2002.

“Fortunately the sports ministry and the national cricket board did a great, great job to somehow find the funds,” the 37-year-old told AFP.

Sri Lanka has weathered months of food and fuel shortages, blackouts and runaway inflation in the wake of its worst financial crash on record. Public anger over the downturn this month saw a huge crowd storm the home and office of the country’s president, who then fled abroad and resigned.Sports federations were hit hard by the crisis after already seeing their coffers drained during the coronavirus pandemic, which obliterated athletic sponsorships from local businesses.

Federations were left without enough cash to pay for athlete uniforms and plane tickets at a time when a post-pandemic travel bounce has driven up the cost of airfares.Dampath Fernando, the Sri Lankan team’s chef de mission, said administrators had lobbied for support in their determination to do everything they could to give the country a chance to compete.

“As a matter of principle sport brings so many good things, so much happiness,” Fernando told AFP.

“We want to stand like other nations, in front of our flag, as a proud nation, keeping our backs straight, our heads strong and we want to do our best.”

Commonwealth Games organisers were made aware of the Sri Lankans’ financial struggles and responded with a promise to sponsor the bulk of the travelling squad.

Sri Lanka’s cricket board, which recently hosted Australia despite fears political unrest would disrupt their seven-week tour of the island, chipped in more than 22 million rupees ($60,000) to help cover the remaining shortfall.

– ‘We have a responsibility’ –

Sri Lanka’s worsening economy has thrown up other obstacles for the country’s athletes and their determination to improve on their haul of one silver and five bronze medals at the Gold Coast in 2018. Fuel shortages have made it difficult for some competitors to travel to practice, while budget constraints have left sport federations short of clothing and other essential equipment. Fernando said the resilience of the athletes had made him and his colleagues determined to get the competitors to the Games, which start next Thursday.

“This is not the first time that we as a country have faced these type of battles,” Fernando said, citing a decades-long civil war and a tsunami that killed more than 30,000 of his compatriots.

“It’s a dream of athletes to take part,” he added. “We have a responsibility to fulfil that dream. Just because we are facing economic crisis… does not mean that we just forget about it.”

Disruptions and unrest are now part of daily life in Sri Lanka and many athletes have done their best to make do.

“Anyway, I can’t control it,” said Ganga Senavirathne, 19, a swimmer preparing for her Commonwealth Games debut.

“In terms of things I can control, like my training, I was able to manage everything pretty well,” she told AFP.

“Politics is not a conversation I enjoy.”

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Landslide Early Warnings issued to the districts of Kandy and Nuwara Eliya extended

Published

8 hours ago

2026/02/14

Priyan

The landslide early warnings issued to the Districts of Kandy and Nuwara Eliya by the Landslide Early Warning Center of the National Building Research Organisation have been extended till 0600 hrs on 15th February 2026.

Accordingly,
The Level II [AMBER] warnings issued to the Divisional Secretaries Divisions and surrounding areas of Walapane and Nildandahinna in the Nuwar Eliya district and the
Level I [YELLOW] warning issued to the Divisional Secretaries Divisions and surrounding areas of Pathadumbara in the Kandy district have been extended.

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Advisory for Severe Lightning issued to the Western, Sabaragamuwa and Southern provinces and Badulla and Nuwara-Eliya districts

Published

9 hours ago

2026/02/14

Priyan

Advisory for Severe Lightning Issued by the Natural Hazards Early Warning Centre at 11.30 a.m. 14 February 2026 valid for the period until 11.30 p.m. 14 February 2026

Thundershowers accompanied with severe lightning are likely to occur at some places in the Western, Sabaragamuwa and Southern provinces and in Badulla and Nuwara-Eliya districts after 1.00 p.m. There may be temporary localized strong winds during thundershowers.

The General public is kindly requested to take adequate precautions to minimize damages caused by lightning activity.

ACTION REQUIRED:

The Department of Meteorology advises that people should:
 Seek shelter, preferably indoors and never under trees.
 Avoid open areas such as paddy fields, tea plantations and open water bodies during thunderstorms.
 Avoid using wired telephones and connected electric appliances during thunderstorms.
 Avoid using open vehicles, such as bicycles, tractors and boats etc.
 Beware of fallen trees and power lines.
 For emergency assistance contact the local disaster management authorities.

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Teacher recruitment examinations will be conducted in accordance with the relevant court decisions – PM

Published

19 hours ago

2026/02/14

Priyan

Prime Minister Dr. Harini Amarasuriya stated that the forthcoming two teacher recruitment examinations will be conducted in accordance with the relevant court decisions pertaining to the ongoing legal proceedings and further noted that, taking into consideration the requests received, steps have been taken to make a request to Court’s approval to revise the conditions of the effective date of degree completion.

The Prime Minister made these remarks while addressing a meeting held at Monaragala Royal College to brief education authorities of the Monaragala District on the new education reforms.

Under the new education reforms, Smart Boards will be provided to 132 schools in the Monaragala District as part of the program to equip secondary schools with modern technology. As a symbolic step under this initiative, Smart Boards were presented to 10 secondary schools under the Prime Minister’s patronage. This program is being implemented with the intervention of the Digital Task Force operating under the Prime Minister’s Office. It was also emphasized that a new digital policy, formulated with special attention to child protection, will be introduced in April.

As part of her visit to the Monaragala District on the 13 th of February, the Prime Minister observed the implementation of the new learning methodologies introduced for Grade One under the new education reforms. She visited Kumbukkana Sri Shanmugam Tamil Maha Vidyalaya and Maduruketiya Maha Vidyalaya in Monaragala to observe the educational activities of Grade One students.

Considering the increase of student numbers and the development of infrastructure facilities, the Prime Minister also approved a proposal submitted by the School Development Society to rename Maduruketiya Maha Vidyalaya as Monaragala Dharmaraja Maha Vidyalaya.

Teachers briefed the Prime Minister that the new education system, supported by revised workbooks and activity-based learning methods, has proven to be effective, with students participating enthusiastically.

Addressing education officials further at the meeting held at Monaragala Royal College, the Prime Minister stated:

“Although this will not provide a complete solution to the existing teacher vacancies, these examinations can offer considerable relief. According to the Court’s previous determination, the effective date of degree completion had been set as 30.06.2025. However, considering numerous requests and following the cabinet approval we have sought Court’s consent to revise this date. We will act in accordance with the decision granted.

Funds allocated for school infrastructure must be utilized transparently and in line with proper planning, and progress must be reported accordingly. We cannot move forward by dividing ourselves along national, provincial, rural, or urban lines. As education authorities, you must make swift and accurate decisions based on correct data.

Further, discussions are already underway within the Piriven Committee of the Ministry of Education to develop Piriven education and to address the issues faced by Piriven teachers.”

The event was attended by the members of the Maha Sangha, Uva Province Governor Attorney-at-Law Kapila Jayasekara, Deputy Minister of Trade and Commerce R.M. Jayawardhana, Member of Parliament Ajith Agalakada, Uva Provincial Education Secretary Nihal Gunarathne, and several officials from the education sector.