Sri Lanka’s famous sports doctor Siri Kannangara passes away in Australia

Dr. Siri Kannangara with Sri Lanka cricket legends Arjuna Ranatunga and Aravinda de Silva 

Sri Lanka’s most famous sports doctor in Australia Dr. Siri Kannangara has passed away in Sydney.

Dr. Kannangara was renowned for treating several great sportsmen in Australia and Sri Lanka and working his magic on them so that they made recoveries and were back on their feet to continue their sports careers.

Thousands of Sri Lankans and Australians have benefitted from his enormous influence and medical skills in Australia and abroad.

Some of his patients in his medical clinics were very high profile sports men and women in international cricket like Sachin Tendulkar, Chaminda Vaas and Lasith Malinga who were having career threatening medical injuries and were treated successfully.

Dr. Kannangara was involved with Australian cricket being a medical pioneer in the Kerry Packer World Series in 1977 where he came to treat cricketing icons like Viv Richards, Clive Lloyd, Barry Richards and many other ex-players.

Dr. Kannangara migrated to Australia from Sri Lanka in 1977 and was involved as the Physician and Consultant to the Australian Olympic teams at the Barcelona, Atlanta and Sydney Games, and at World Cup events for football, cricket, netball and hockey. He also served as a FIFA Medical Committee Member from 1999 to 2006, the first Australian to do so and was inducted into the Football Australia Hall of Fame in 2002. In 2013 he was honoured with a Member (AM) in the General Division of the Order of Australia for significant service to medicine, particularly in the field of sports medicine and rheumatology. 

– (ST)