By Hishan Welmilla
Experienced campaigners expected to lead Sri Lanka’s charge as the team seeks to surpass its previous medal tally
Sri Lanka’s para athletes are heading into the 5th Asian Para Games in Aichi-Nagoya, Japan, with renewed confidence and a clear ambition to improve on their previous medal tally when the competition gets underway from October 18 to 24.
Team manager Lt. Colonel Deepal Herath, a former President of the National Paralympic Committee of Sri Lanka and currently Senior Vice President of the South Asian Para Sports Federation, believes the team has the potential to produce an impressive performance, with athletics once again expected to spearhead the country’s medal campaign.
“We won 11 medals at the last Asian Para Games in Hangzhou, China, in 2023, and this time our focus is on improving that tally in Japan. We traditionally expect a strong medal return from athletics, but we are also looking at wheelchair tennis and swimming to contribute at least two or three medals,” Herath said.
He added that the National Paralympic Committee had overseen a sound preparation programme, with several experienced athletes who have already tasted success at international level included in the contingent.
Sri Lanka’s best recent performance at the Asian Para Games came in Jakarta in 2018, when the country won 14 medals — four gold, six silver and four bronze — to finish 14th overall. Athletics accounted for 13 of those medals, underlining its importance to Sri Lanka’s ambitions in Japan, while wheelchair tennis contributed a bronze.
Experienced athletes at the forefront
Nuwan Indika Gamage will be one of Sri Lanka’s leading medal prospects. At the 2023 Hangzhou Games, he won gold in the men’s T44 100m and silver in the men’s T64 long jump, setting Games records in both events with performances of 11.63 seconds and 6.68 metres respectively. With greater international experience and encouraging form, he will be aiming to add further honours to his collection.
Another athlete expected to make an impact is Pradeep Somasiri, who won gold in the men’s T46 1,500m in Hangzhou with a Games-record time of 4:05.14. He will be seeking to reproduce that winning performance against a competitive field in Japan.
Samitha Dulan, who captured silver in the men’s F44 javelin throw at the 2024 Paris Paralympics, is another major medal hope. His success on the Paralympic stage has strengthened expectations surrounding his campaign at the Asian Para Games.
Palitha Bandara, a double silver medallist in discus throw at the last two Commonwealth Games, will compete in the shot put in Japan. Having previously won silver in the event at the 2018 Asian Para Games and bronze at the 2022 edition, he will be looking to add another Asian medal to his record.
Janani Dananjana is among the leading prospects in the women’s events. After winning silver in the women’s T47 long jump at the previous Asian Para Games, she will compete in both the long jump and 100m in Japan.
She narrowly missed a Commonwealth Games medal in the women’s T47 100m, finishing fourth in a personal-best 12.50 seconds, just 0.04 seconds outside the bronze-medal position. Janani will now be hoping to turn that narrow miss into a double-medal success in Japan.
Brigadier (Retd.) Dhananjaya Aludeniya, President of the National Paralympic Committee of Sri Lanka, will serve as Chef de Mission of the Sri Lankan contingent.
Tragedy strikes Sri Lanka’s para-sport contingent
However, Sri Lanka’s preparations have been overshadowed by the tragic death of para shooter Niranjala Ranasinghe in a motorcycle accident in Dankotuwa on Monday.
Ranasinghe, the only shooting competitor selected for Sri Lanka’s Asian Para Games team, was reportedly travelling to Colombo to attend a special send-off ceremony organised by the Embassy of Japan for the athletes heading to the Games when the fatal accident occurred.
Lt. Colonel Samantha Kumara, her coach and team manager, described the incident as a tragic loss.
A mother of two, Ranasinghe was a talented civilian shooter who had competed at international qualifying competitions, including the Para World Championships in India and Korea, as she pursued her ambition of improving her world ranking and qualifying for the Paralympic Games.
Her untimely death is a devastating blow to Sri Lankan para sport, robbing the country of an athlete who had worked hard to represent the nation on the international stage.
As the remaining members of the Sri Lankan contingent prepare to take on Asia’s best in Aichi-Nagoya, the team will carry both the hopes of a nation and the memory of a fellow athlete whose Paralympic dream ended far too soon.
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