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.
(Cricbuzz)
By A Special Sports Correspondent
All eyes will be on new entrants to rugby ‘Sri Lions Sports Club’ when they debut in the 2024/25 Inter-club league rugby tournament in Kandy on Sunday (December 15). Sri Lions are slated to take on last season’s league tournament runners-up Kandy Sports Club at the Nittawela grounds. Despite Sri Lions SC being new to domestic rugby, a thriller is expected; as the team is packed with players who are well drilled at training and the other reason being all players possess an IRB Level 1 qualification.
Sri Lions SC’s entry into division 1 rugby was not smooth. Many clubs opposed their promotion to the top league in the domestic tournament. Rugby sources told ‘The Island’ that despite the opposition shown by some clubs, Sri Lanka Rugby and other prominent sports authorities in Sri Lanka had to grant the new entrants their due place in the top league. This was largely because Sri Lions SC had made progress through the proper channel by winning the B Division rugby tournament last season.
Dr. Kelum Sujith Perera, the founder chairman of Sri Lions SC, was quoted in the newspapers saying that the club’s priority was centred around professionalism and transparency and that the club was committed to contributing to rugby development in Sri Lanka.
The club boasts of having in their line up comprising 12 former national players and a horde of talented ex-schoolboy players who have recently finished their academic commitments on a high.
The other matches scheduled for the first week of club rugby are: Sri Lanka Air Force Sports Club vs CH&FC at Ratmalana (December 13), Army Sports Club vs Police Sports Club at Panagoda, Navy Sport Club vs Havelocks SC at Welisara (Both matches on December 14).
CR&FC will be one of the teams to watch this season given that they are the reigning league rugby champions. The side is led by Gemunu Chethiya. The club upgrading their stadium to have floodlight facilities should elevate player thinking to another level. The other club to offer floodlight facilities for domestic rugby matches is Havelocks SC. However CR will not have a match in the opening week of the tournament.
Last season’s league runners-up Kandy SC are led this season by seasoned scrum half Srinath Sooriyabandara who counts years of experience playing in domestic and overseas tournaments. The side is coached by Fazil Marija. Kandy SC’s dominance in domestic rugby was broken last season and much is expected of the side from Nittawela, which is going through a team building phase at present.
CH&FC is a dangerous side to play against when the team members are gelled and focused. Last season the side finished fourth. This season the Gymkhana Club is led by Janidu Dilshan.
Havelocks SC led by Abdullah Faiz is set to finish on a high this season. The Park Club finished third in the league rugby tournament last season. Police SC, which had to be satisfied winning the ‘Plate Championship’ in the league tournament last season, will be another strong contender vying for honours . The side is led for the second consecutive year by third row forward Mohan Wimalaratne.
The other sides in the tournament are Army SC, Air Force Sports Club and Navy Sport Club.
The tournament is conducted by Sri Lanka Rugby, the governing body for the sport in the island. Rugby sources reveal that an SGM has been called on December 20 for clubs to attend with the motive of announcing the date for the much looked forward to Annual General Meeting of SLR. According to International Rugby regulations, SLR has to have it’s AGM before January 31 next year.
SLTA Hard Court Nationals
Revaan Amarasinghe and Shennon Senadheera reached the Under 12 boys singles final as they edged out their semi-final opponents at the Sri Lanka Tennis Association Hard Court Tennis Nationals at the SLTA courts on Thursday.
Amarasinghe of S.Thomas’ College, Mount Lavinia beat Nuren Wevita 6-1, 6-1 in his semi-final.
In the other semi-final, Wesley’s Shannon Senadheera beat Yonal Dankumbura 7-6 (4), 6-2.
Results : Under 14 Boys quarter-final
Jayan Sebastian beat Buvidu Jayawardana 6-4, 6-3.
Damsath Peiris beat Thuvakar Sathiees 6-3, 6-4.
D. Wickramasinghe beat Umar Wayis 6-3, 6-1.
Under 18 Boys’ semi-final
Louis Knese beat Ganuka Fernando 6-4, 6-3
Women’s Singles quarter-final
Rukshika Wijesuriya beat Sandithi Usgodaarachchi 4-6, 6-4, 6-4.
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