Janashakthi felicitates Sri Lankan medalists at Asian Junior Athletic meet

Janashakthi Insurance, as a part of their commitment to develop and nurture sporting talent in Sri Lanka, felicitated eight young athletes for their excellent performance at the recently concluded 15th Asian Junior Athletic meet in Colombo.  

The pool of athletes comprising of Shivanthi Rathnayake, Nimesha Siriwardena, Chamika Jayamini, Nayomika Gimhani, Pabasara Senanayake, Malin Udaya Kumara, Medhani Wickramanayake and R. Krithiha have been nurtured under Janashakthi Insurance’s annual sponsorship programme for the last four years and were selected to represent Sri Lanka at the recent 15th Asian Athletic Championship.

Shivanthi Rathnayake won a gold medal in the 400m event and anchored the 4 x 400m relay team to win the silver medal. Nimesha Siriwardena won a silver medal while Chamika Jayamini bagged a bronze in the 3,000m steeple chase.

Nayomika Gimhani emerged fourth in the 400m women’s hurdles while Pabasara Senanayake was placed sixth in the 200m race and was just edged out of 1,500m. Malin Udaya Kumara was placed sixth in long jump. Medhani Wickramanayake, only 16 years old, was a member of the 4 x 100m relay squad while 15 year old R. Krithiha participated in the high jump event, which indicated a promising future for him.

Janashakthi Insurance has hand-picked these promising athletes at the age of 15-16 years from rural areas for their talent and potential and have assisted them by providing a monthly sponsorship value to support their nutrition as well as periodic guidance on technical matters provided by a highly experienced senior athletic coach Yogananda Wijesundara.

In addition to this, the athletes are provided constant mentoring, motivation and personal capacity development guidance by the Co-ordinator of the Janashakthi Athletic Sponsorship Project who monitors their regular progress, not only with athletics but also with their studies. The insurer’s overall objective is to build rounded personalities, complete their studies and develop their athletic capabilities so that they can eventually dream big and aim for the gold at the highest level of athletic competition, the Olympics itself, and in the meantime ensure that the Sri Lanka flag flutters at international level victory podiums.

The felicitation ceremony rewarded the achievements as per the promise and undertaking given to each child of a reward and incentive that takes in to account performance, type of athletic meet and level of competition. This ceremony also created a forum for public recognition, thereby motivating the young stars to reach greater heights of success for the country.

Janashakthi Insurance has always encouraged and supported sportsmanship. Best known for its long association with cricket, the insurer has sponsored several Sri Lankan Test cricket series during the past few years. Janashakthi has also extended its support to several other sports at national level such as hockey, squash, rowing and sailing, thus reiterating its commitment to the long-term development of sports in Sri Lanka.