Randev wins 2nd medal at South Asian Karate Championship

Sri Lankan top karateka Randev Athukorala won his second medals at a South Asian Championship when he won the Silver Medal in the heavy weight category – under 17 at the 4th South Asian Karate Championship staged in Sri Lanka last Saturday. He beat the Pakistani, Nepal and Bhutan number 1 but lost to India’s number 1 in the final last Saturday at Sugathadasa Stadium.

One of the most competitive sports in South Asian being Karate, due to the roots of the game originating from countries like Nepal, Bhutan the 4th Championships included the best karatekara from India, Pakistan, Maldives and Sri Lanka making it a total of six countries organised by the Asian Karate Federation and is governed by the World Karate Federation.

Randev last year in the Under 15 category won the Gold Medal at the South Asian championships staged in New Delhi, India and there after went to be placed 4th at the Asian Championship and ended year ranked 11th globally in the official world Karate Federation (WKF) ratings.

Speaking about the championship, he said: “This is my first year in the under 17 age group, so I was up against seniors who were two years elder to me. I will bring in a Gold medal for Sri Lanka at the Commonwealth Karate Championships to be staged later during the year.”

A product of St. Peter’s College, he is trained by Sri Lanka’s top Kumitae specialist sensei Jurangpathy whilst the National Team is trained by world ranked fighter Sensei Kalyana. 

“The formative training I received was from Sensei Nimal assisted by Safraz Sensei,” said Athukorala, going back to his roots when he was just five years old. His manager is his father, Black belt karateka Dr. Rohantha Athukorala who said balancing dietary habits, studies and sports is a tough challenge for a youngster in Sri Lanka given the education and cultural nuances.