Sports

Sprinting with giants yet feeling dwarfish

Published

6 years ago

2020/10/20

For two years Ambepitiya had the rare privilege of having sprint king Usain Bolt and his closest contender to world titles Yohan Blake as his training partners but what became of his long cherished ambitions after heavy loads of training in Jamaica is something that should be seriously studied by those who propose foreign training for Sri Lankan athletes. Shehan Ambepitiya flanked by Usain Bolt and Glean Mills.

Foreign training for local athletes

Story of a Lankan youth who trained alongside Bolt

by Reemus Fernando

Sprinter Shehan Ambepitiya had the privilege of being trained by probably the best sprint coach in Sri Lanka. He had bagged several coveted international medals by the time he turned 20. By 2010 he was just three milliseconds behind the Olympic qualifying mark for 100 metres (judging by the 2008 qualifying standards) when the highly excited National Olympic Committee provided him with an IOC scholarship to be trained by Glean Mills alongside world record holder Usain Bolt. For two years Ambepitiya had the rare privilege of having sprint king Usain Bolt and his closest contender to world titles Yohan Blake as his training partners but what became of his long cherished ambitions after heavy loads of training in Jamaica is something that should be seriously studied by those who fancy foreign training for Sri Lankan athletes.

There are many Sri Lankan track and field athletes who benefitted from foreign training and reached Olympic qualifying standards and international medal winning standards. Olympians from S. L. B. Rosa and Nagalingam Ethirveerasingam to Manjula Kumara, who had US University scholarships and from Olympic medalist Susanthika Jayasinghe to Asian Championship medalist Sachith Maduranga, high performance training overseas had a huge positive impact on their sporting careers.

But from sprinters Ambepitiya to Chandrika Subashini to long jumper Sampath Dissanayake it was a different story as they struggled to reach their personal best after undergoing training meant for track and field’s super stars. Current sprinter Himasha Eshan, who also had a training stint in Jamaica also had to face a similar predicament and remodel his training plans after returning from Jamaica.

“It was a good experience to train alongside the likes of Bolt and Blake but I never ran closer to my personal best after training in Jamaica,” said Shehan Ambepitiya in an interview with The Island on Monday.

“I was following the same training schedule Bolt and Blake was following. It was not an individualised training plan. Obviously, the focus during training was on Bolt.”

By 2008, Ambepitiya had burst like a rocket into international scene under Sunil Gunawardena’s guidance. He had shown lot of promise at a very young age that he was looked up to as a future medal prospect at senior World level. That year he became the first Sri Lankan male athlete to feature in a final of a World Athletics event when he finished seventh in the 100 metres final at the U20 World Championships. The same year, the former Gateway College and President’s College, Rajagiriya, athlete won three gold medals at the Commonwealth Youth Games in India.

In 2010, Ambepitiya clocked his personal best of 10.31 seconds as he won gold to become South Asia’s fastest man. Athletics had unearthed a wonderful talent. Something had to be done.

Neither the NOC nor the authorities who influenced him to take up the IOC scholarship to be trained in Jamaica meant bad for Ambepitiya. But Sunil Gunawardena, the person who had the knowledge of the athlete was not consulted. Would it have made a difference if had they consulted Gunawardena?

Ambepitiya said: “Sir [Sunil} did not give his consent. At that time I also did not understand why he was not willing to send me for training in Jamaica.”

When he returned from Jamaica, Ambepitiya had a nagging hamstring injury to cope up with and those who were expecting miracles to happen wondered why he had not qualified for the 2012 London Olympics.

“Everything was different in Jamaica from food to training. Sunil Sir was yet to introduce me to lift heavy weights in training here. In Jamaica, I was introduced to them without any evaluation.

But when I returned I was far behind my personal best. It took years before I could run below 10.50 seconds again.”

Despite failing to improve his personal best, Ambepitiya continued training under Gunawardena with a lot of commitment for years and was a part of the team that established the current national record in the men’s 4×100 metres at the Commonwealth Games in 2018.

Asked for his views on foreign training for local athletes, Ambepitiya opined that he would not recommend it for track and field athletes.

Sports Minister Namal Rajapaksa has highlighted the need to provide foreign training for country’s best athletes. It has been reported that the best athletes selected from this year’s competitions would be sent abroad for training. It is doubtful whether there would be competitions this year due to the COVID-19 pandemic. But when the competitions are held and future prospects emerge it would be advisable to weigh the pros and cons of overseas training carefully. Foreign training which is perfect for one may not be so for another as in the case of Ambepitiya.

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Sports

Look out for Mayon as field event athletes begin action at Diyagama

Published

49 mins ago

2026/10/16

Thilina Walpola

Mayon Rajasinghe

All Island Schools Games Athletics Championships

by Reemus Fernando

‎The Under 18 boys’ shot put meet record will be under severe threat today, when the most talked-about thrower of the last All Island Schools Games Athletics Championships takes to the field on the opening day at Diyagama.

‎Mayon Rajasinghe, now competing for his third school in four years, has shown steady progress this season and appears to be peaking at the right time to attempt another record-breaking performance on the junior circuit.

‎Having recently set a new meet record of 17.31m at the Western Province Schools Games, Mayon will now try to surpass the All Island Schools Games Under 18 record of 17.15m.

‎The first two age-category records in the Games’ shot put event already bear his name. He set the current Under 14 record of 15.13m while representing Prince of Wales College, Moratuwa. Last year, while attending St. Joseph’s College, Darley Road, he shattered the Under 16 meet record with a throw of 18.57m using the 4kg shot. It is the furthest any Sri Lankan has thrown in the Under 16 category at any meet, from the Junior National Championships to the Sir John Tarbat Senior Championships to the Schools Games.

‎Yet the outstanding performance did not receive the recognition it deserved. His father, who also trains him, was adamant that the then 16-year-old deserved the meet’s Best Athlete title. The organisers disagreed, citing the differing weights of implements across age categories as their reason for setting the performance aside. No clear criteria had been announced before the meet, which made such disappointment all but inevitable. Senior Rajasinghe’s outburst after the presentation ceremony, and the social media backlash that followed, have had an effect: the Ministry of Education has now published criteria for selecting the meet’s best athlete. However, it remains doubtful whether the criteria in the competition manual can offer athletes in different age categories and disciplines an equal opportunity to have their performances assessed fairly.

‎This year Mayon represents Holy Cross College, Kalutara. He has picked up where he left off last year, breaking record after record, and is poised to make an impact once again.

‎The championship begins with a card of eight finals. Around 5,000 athletes in the Under 14, 16, 18 and 20 age categories, representing all nine provinces, will take part in the five-day event after qualifying through house, divisional, zonal and provincial competitions.

Sports

57th Annual Saints’ Quadrangular Tournament on Saturday and Sunday

Published

49 mins ago

2026/10/16

Thilina Walpola

The much-anticipated 57th Annual Saints’ Quadrangular Tournament which brings together four of Sri Lanka’s leading Catholic schools, St. Anthony’s College, Kandy, St. Benedict’s College, Colombo 13, St.Joseph’s College, Colombo 10, and St. Peter’s College, Colombo 04, for a weekend of spirited competition, camaraderie and nostalgia is scheduled to take place this weekend (weather permitting).

This year’s tournament is being hosted by the St. Peter’s College Old Boys’ Union (SPCOBU) during its Centenary year, marking 100 years since the Union was founded in 1927. The Centenary celebrates a century of service to the College and the Peterite community, under the theme “Honouring the Past, Strengthening the Present, Inspiring the Peterite of Tomorrow.”

The origins of the ‘Saints Quadrangular Tournament’ trace back to 1963, during the Diamond Jubilee celebrations of St. Benedict’s College. An open invitation was extended to schools across the country for a cricket tournament, and coincidentally, only the above three premier Catholic institutions joined

What began as a two-day cricket encounter has evolved into a multi-sport carnival that continues to embody the true spirit of sportsmanship and fraternity.

In 2002, the organizers introduced a 25-over Cricket Tournament for players aged 40 and above, allowing past cricketers to once again represent their beloved alma mater. Two years later, in 2004, Basketball was added to the lineup, enriching the event further given the strong basketball heritage of the four schools.

Continuing its evolution, 7-a-side Rugby was introduced in 2014, transforming the Saints’ Quadrangular into a vibrant sports carnival that now features three major sports across four tournaments namely Cricket, over 40 Cricket, Basketball, and Rugby.

Sports

Pathum Nissanka ruled out of Pakistan tri series

Published

50 mins ago

2026/10/16

Thilina Walpola

Pathum Nissanka

by Rex Clementine

Sri Lanka have suffered a major setback ahead of the ODI tri-series in Pakistan, with prolific opening batsman Pathum Nissanka ruled out of the tournament, which gets underway on Sunday. England are the third team in the competition, with Sri Lanka taking on hosts Pakistan in the curtain raiser.

Nissanka, who missed the T20I series with a hamstring injury, had been expected to recover in time for the ODI leg of the tour. However, his rehabilitation has taken longer than anticipated. The selectors initially remained hopeful that he could feature towards the business end of the tournament, but yesterday confirmed that the opening batsman would play no part in the competition.

The focus now shifts to getting him fit for the two match Test series against Pakistan next month.

Nissanka’s NCC team mate Lahiru Udara has been drafted in as his replacement for the ODI series.

A source close to the team said Nissanka would now target the warm up fixture ahead of the Test series to prove his fitness and stake his claim for a return to the longer format.

Since making his international debut in 2021, Nissanka has established himself as Sri Lanka’s most prolific batsman across formats, playing a starring role in several memorable victories.

A mountain of runs in domestic cricket paved the way for his international breakthrough and he announced his arrival in style with a century on Test debut in the Caribbean. He subsequently etched his name into the record books by becoming the first Sri Lankan to score a double hundred in One Day Internationals.

If there were lingering doubts about his pedigree in Test cricket, Nissanka put them to bed at The Oval in 2024. Against a formidable England pace attack in testing conditions, he produced a masterclass in batting, helping Sri Lanka pull off a famous victory on English soil.

Earlier this year, he delivered another telling blow, this time against Australia in the T20 World Cup. His magnificent century sent one of the pre tournament favourites packing and underlined his ability to rise to the occasion on the biggest stage.

His remarkable consistency and versatility across all three formats earned him the prestigious Player of the Year honour at the Annual Cricket Awards, where he was the cynosure of all eyes.

However, injuries have increasingly become a stumbling block in what has otherwise been a flourishing career.

Nissanka was forced to return home midway through the tour of the West Indies to undergo wrist surgery in the United Kingdom. He was expected to recover in time for the two match home Test series against India, but that target proved beyond his reach.

Although he returned to action for the white ball series in England, he struggled to make an impact. Now, another injury setback has put him out of the ODI tri-series in Pakistan, leaving Sri Lanka without their premier opening batsman at a time when the team can ill afford to lose its most dependable run scorer.