Ministry of Youth and Sports and Nestomalt kick off 46th National Sports Festival

 Nestlé Lanka Vice President – Corporate Affairs Bandula Egodage hands over the token of sponsorship cheque to Sports and Youth Minister Namal Rajapaksa. Others (from left): Ministry of Youth and Sports Director of Sports Anura Edirisuriya, Nestle Lanka Senior Manager Activations Sajeewa Wickramasinghe and Institute of Sports Medicine Director General Dr. Lal Ekanayake

• Marathon, cycling and race walking competitions winners will be considered for national pool, to represent country internationally 

The Ministry of Youth and Sports and Nestomalt have announced the first three events of the eagerly awaited 46th National Sports Festival – marathon, cycling and race walking which kicked off yesterday and will go on till 29 March. 

The competition will be held under strict Health Ministry regulations to ensure participants’ safety, and winners will be considered for selection to the national pool. Many past winners such as Jeevan Jayasinghe, Indrajith Cooray, and P.M.N. Nayanananda have gone on to represent the country and excel at international events. 

Widely considered the most important of the national sports calendar, the National Sports Festival traditionally consists of 311 events altogether. However, owing to the pandemic, these events will be spaced out and held at intervals this year, to abide by safety and health regulations. 

Minister of Youth and Sports Namal Rajapaksa said: “The safety and wellbeing of our participants come first, so we had to postpone the National Sports Festival last year due to the pandemic. However, we’re glad to be able to continue the legacy of this great event this year, and provide talented athletes across the country the opportunity to compete, as we have done since 1972. I’d like to thank our long-term partner Nestomalt for continuing to support our key events, and ensuring promising Sri Lankan athletes have a forum for their talent to be recognised and developed.” 

As part of its ambition to provide a positive start and power progress for Sri Lankans, Nestomalt has powered the Marathon competition at the festival for more than 20 years. 

Nestlé Lanka Vice President – Corporate Affairs Bandula Egodage said: “To compete at both a national and international level, one needs to be 100% ready in body and mind. As the country’s most loved malted food drink, we have partnered this event for decades to provide young athletes a positive start to their sports career. We’re proud to power the ambitions of young athletes and help them progress by ensuring they have a forum to compete, be recognised, and developed to achieve their highest potential.”