Sports
Nishantha: The coach behind historic Paralympic gold
by Reemus Fernando
A coach plays a vital role in an athlete’s success. When it comes to track and field sports, a coach can make or break the career of an athlete. It is the coach’s specific training plan that helps the athlete peak at the right time to produce his best. A good coach would know where his trainee would end up and what his performance would be like even before the athlete gets into the track for his competition. Former Sri Lanka national record holder-turned javelin coach Pradeep Nishantha knew exactly where Dinesh Priyantha Herath would end up even before he boarded the flight for Tokyo Paralympics as he had been training the thrower with a target of ‘creating history at the Paralympics’.
When Herath threw the javelin to a World record distance in the F46 category to win the country’s first gold medal at a Paralympics on Monday, Nishantha and the other two track and field coaches- Olympian Harijan Ratnayake and veteran coach Sajith Jayalal- witnessing the events from the stands erupted in joy and hugged each other. That was the moment Nishantha was waiting for, and the knowledge that Herath had produced his peak performance for the year and that would decide the contest with two throws to spare made the coach instruct his charge to skip the final throw.
Nishantha had the full confidence in his training regimen, he said in an interview with The Island prior to the event that his charges would create history at Tokyo Paralympics. A gold medal, a Para World record and a bronze medal through Dulan Kodithuwakku’s performance in the F64 javelin proved his prediction right.
With history created now, many are the parties that stake a claim to Herath’s gold medal victory though Nishantha continues to avoid the limelight. It should be recalled that Herath had only thrown a distance of 58.23 metres at the Rio Paralympics in 2016. Undoubtedly Nishantha’s contribution was the vital factor that helped him not only win gold but also produce a world record throw of 67.79 metres.
The success of his trainees at the Paralympics is the latest accomplishment for Nishantha, who is credited for producing world-class throwers to represent Sri Lanka even at the Olympics. Men’s javelin throw has witnessed vast improvements at the World level during the last few years and Nishantha has done his part to produce world-class throwers from Sri Lanka. Sumedha Ranasinghe became the first Sri Lankan male athlete to represent the country in the javelin throw at Olympics under his guidance in 2016. Ranasinghe’s massive throw of 83.04 metres at a local event at Diyagama in 2015 made him one of the best throwers in Asia that year. It was under Nishantha’s guidance that Ranasinghe has achieved success at many international events including the 2019 World Military Games where he clinched a bronze.
Currently, the country has three throwers who have thrown over a distance of 80 metres. All three have been under Nishantha’s guidance at some point in their careers.
Nishantha who is the Assistant Head of Sports and Athletics Coach at Gateway College Rajagiriya commenced coaching in the year 2005. Currently, he has a number of top national-level athletes and several Para athletes training together. They have the potential to excel at international events. It is incumbent upon authorities to take care of the likes of Nishantha and provide them with opportunities to improve their knowledge further.
Sri Lanka Athletics has invited India, the Philippines and the Maldives for next month’s Relay Championships conducted by Sri Lanka Schools Athletics Association in a bid to provide the men’s 4×400 metres relay quartet with a chance to reach qualifying standards for the World Relays.
Currently Sri Lanka men’s 4×400 metres relay team is within the required ranking position to compete at the prestigious World Relays taking place in Guangzhou, China. The 3:04.48 seconds finish to win the gold medal of the men’s 4×400 metres at the Asian Relays in May last year has placed Sri Lanka in the 31st position in the ‘Road to Guangzhou’ rankings.
But with many competitions coming up within the next couple of months Sri Lanka Athletics wants to leave no stone unturned in their quest to keep the ranking position within the qualifying range.
The teams in the first 32 positions according to the times produced within the qualifying period (January 1, 2024 to April 13, 2025) become eligible for the World Relays taking place on May 10 and 11 in Guangzhou.
Sri Lanka’s chances of improving the current standings (31st) at this week’s World Indoor Championship in China are minimal as Olympian Aruna Dharshana, who is the fastest of the current crop of athletes will not be available for the event.
Dharshana is currently training and competing in Australia. He is looking forward to reach qualifying standards or reach the required ranking position for World Championships in the 400 metres.
The World Athletics has set a tough standard of 44.85 seconds for the men’s 400 metres. While only 17 are selected through direct qualifying standards, 31 athletes are selected through rankings for the 400 metres. Dharshana is yet yo enter rankings to be eligible for the World Championships.
Sri Lanka Athletics will field Dharshana, Kalinga Kumarage, S.B.R. Madushan and Sadew Rajakaruna for the relay event in April.
by Reemus Fernando
Defence Services Beach Volleyball Championship 2025 was held from March 12 to 14 at the SLAF beach volleyball courts, Katunayake. During the finals SLAF Men’s team defeated SL Army (2-0) while the SL Navy Women’s team defeated SLAF Women’s team (2-0). Incidentally is the seventh Defence Services Beach Volleyball title won by the SLAF Men’s Team.
Base Commander SLAF Base Katunayake AVM Dhammika Dias graced the occasion as the Chief Guest. Chairman of SLAF Volleyball, Group Captain Milinda Mendis, Senior Officers from SL Army and Navy were also present for the finals.
The Central Province Badminton Association (CPBA) is now accepting entries for one of Sri Lanka’s most anticipated badminton competitions, the Summer Season All-Island Open Championships 2025, which will be staged at the Municipal Council Indoor Stadium in Nuwara Eliya from April 21 to 27.
The highly followed seven-day annual badminton tournament, held during the Nuwara Eliya April Holiday Season, is known to attract Sri Lanka’s top ranked shuttlers. The National Ranking Level 1 competition, sanctioned by Sri Lanka Badminton (SLB), is one of the key sporting attractions of Nuwara Eliya during April every year, known to generate increasing public interest.
The championship will feature a wide range of events from Under-11 to Under-19 in the Junior category and Over-30 to Over-70 in the Senior category, with an addition of three Combined Age segment of 100+. The main attraction of the competition will be the Open events comprising Men’s and Women’s Singles, Doubles and Mixed Doubles, with an addition of a Plate Championship for the losers in Men’s and Women’s Singles.
The opening ceremony will take place on April 21st at 9:00am, followed by the preliminary rounds, leading up to the climax on April 26 with the quarter-finals and semi-finals. The excitement will continue on April 27 with the highly anticipated semi-finals and final matches, followed by the Closing Ceremony to mark the culmination of this championship.
The main draw seeding will be determined based on SLB Ranking as of April 13, followed by the draw on April 16 at 11:00am at No.2, Cambridge Terrace, Colombo 7. Entries will close on April 10 at noon. Entries can be submitted online or by contacting Sadeesha Adithya on 0761759017 and further details of the tournament are available in the prospectus published in the SLB website.
A total prize money of Rs.750,000 for all events based on the number of entries will be on offer, in addition to trophies, medals and certificates guaranteed for winners, runners-up and semi-finalists of each event of the tournament. Junior winners will receive appropriate gifts instead of prize money, according to a decision taken by the tournament organisers. The tournament is sponsored by Mobil, Li Ning, McFoil, 3M and GAC.
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