Central Province Sports Department felicitated reputed coach S.M. Gnanasena Banda at the Central Province Sports Awards ceremony recently. The veteran coach receives his award from Central Province Governor Lalith U Gamage. Jagath Keerthi, Director of Sports of Central Province is also in the picture. (Pic courtesy Anurudhdha Herath Bandara)

Central Province Sports Department felicitates Gnanasena Banda

by Reemus Fernando

Reputed coach S.M. Gnanasena Banda was felicitated by Central Province Sports Department at the Central Province Sports Awards ceremony recently. The mentor behind many top national level athletes, who won international fame during the 90s, Banda is recovering from paralysis which he suffered nearly two decades ago. Although he is not actively involved in training he has spent the past two decades imparting his knowledge to deserving coaches who sought his help. Despite being confined to his home he is still keen on imparting that knowledge. In an interview with ‘The Island’ Banda said that the best way to felicitate him was to obtain his knowledge to educate the current crop of coaches.

“I told the director at the awards ceremony that the best they could do to felicitate me was to gain my knowledge,” Banda told The Island.

Regarded by athletic officials as one of the best coaches, Banda trained many an athlete win medals at regional international competitions and to reach Olympic qualifying standards in his heyday. Banda who once competed against the likes of Sunil Gunawardena as an athlete had Yogananda Wijesundara and Lakshman de Alwis as his peers in coaching.

Banda served during an era when Sri Lanka was looking to improve standards of athletic performances. He was different to many of his peers who specialised in specific disciplines.

Banda’s charges were athletes specialised in varying disciplines from sprints to marathons and hurdles to throws. When coaches opt to specialize in a selected group of disciplines (sprint & hurdles, middle & long distance, jumps or throws) Banda’s specialty was the ability to train almost any athletics discipline.

Sriyantha Dissanayake, a household name in athletics, was his charge when he won a medal double at the Asian Games. Dissanayake is the last Sri Lankan male athlete to have won a medal in an Asian Games 100 metres.

Banda had the knowledge to peak a sprinter as well as a marathoner at the right time. V.K.L. Samarasinghe, another of his trainees, was probably the best home-trained marathoner the country produced. Current national marathon record holder Indrajith Cooray in the UK and legendary distance runner S.L.B. Rosa at the Wisconsin Park Side University (USA) had foreign training when they reached their personal best performances and qualified for Olympics. Samarasinghe who was the closest to Rosa’s long standing record in his prime, slashed massive chunks off his personal best under Banda’s guidance to qualify for Olympics.

Long jumpers Sujith Rohitha and Anusha Kariyawasam reached national number one position under his guidance. The latter owned the women’s national record while Rohitha almost had it under his belt.

Olympic thrower Sumeda Ranasinghe’s coach Pradeep Nishantha was under Banda’s stewardship when he held the national record.

One of the longstanding records in athletics is the men’s 400 metres hurdles national record. Banda’s trainee Harijan Ratnayake established the record on his way to winning the Asian Championship silver in Jakarta. His 49.44 seconds feat still remains unshaken two decades after it was established. Banda’s charge was the last Sri Lankan male hurdler to have earned qualifying standards for Olympics.

His services were not limited to athletics. He was also involved in looking after fitness of up and coming cricketers in the 90s. Despite being handicapped Banda is eager to educate coaches who are willing to serve sports.

“I am keen on educating coaches who are willing to serve,” said the septuagenarian.

S.M.G. Banda suffered his first stroke just after the National Sports Festival in 2001. Some of the athletics disciplines have not witnessed an improvement since then. His absence in the field of coaching has left a huge vacuum hard to fill.