Young athletes fulfil their dreams

Wednesday, 22 January 2014 00:00 - - {{hitsCtrl.values.hits}}

It’s hard to imagine that the soft-spoken Shivanthi Rathnayake is a national athlete, representing Sri Lanka in the international arena. The fleet-footed student of St. Joseph’s Balika, Kegalle was first noticed when she won a silver medal in the 400 metre event at the Commonwealth Youth Athletics Championship. More recently, she won Sri Lanka’s first gold medal at the Asian Junior Athletics Championship in 2012. Shivanthi has also dominated at the Sir John Tarbet Athletics Championships, where she won in the junior category for both the 200 metre and 400 metre events in each year of her recent participation. It was a natural progression for her to be appointed National Junior Women’s Athletics Captain for 2012 and 2013.

Yet, this journey would have been more difficult for Shivanthi if not for Janashakthi Insurance’s Rural Athlete Sponsorship Program. In 2013, she led the women’s team to Sri Lanka’s best ever performance at the SAARC Junior Athletics Championships at Randhi, India. Shivanthi herself won Gold at the 400 meters and anchored the 4x400 relay team to a second Gold medal. To date, Janashakthi sponsors 11 school athletes, helping them to achieve their dream of achieving national and even international recognition. General Manager (Finance & Planning) & Co-ordinator, Rural Athlete Sponsorship Program Bertal Pinto-Jayawardena explained that Janashakthi commenced this scheme in 2007 and has supported the journey of many outstanding rural athletes, helping them to reach their potential. He further stated that currently Janashakthi has provided seven athletes with employment contracts and has sponsored 11 other school student rural athletes from across Sri Lanka. Each of these talented athletes is handpicked for their potential. Janashakthi Insurance then sponsors them via monthly payments. Beyond monthly payments, the program also sponsors overseas travel for international events and even provides motivation and other technical guidance to athletes. In addition, each athlete is provided with an incentive scheme to reward them for their achievements at local and international meets. “At Janashakthi Insurance, we pride ourselves on being fair minded and nowhere is this ideal showcased more appropriately than in the world of sports and athletics,” explained Janashakthi Insurance General Manager Marketing and Sales Shehara de Silva. Another lucky recipient of sponsorship is Harshani Wathsala Kumari, a student of Sumana Balika Vidyalaya, Ratnapura. Harshani can hold her own in the 400 metre hurdles and finished first in the 100 metre hurdle event nationally. Her most treasured memory, however, is of coming second in the 400 metre hurdles event in Melbourne, Australia, which she describes as being “an unforgettable experience.” Last year, she represented Sri Lanka in the Asian Youth championships, and just last month, she too participated in the South Asian Junior Athletics Championships in Ranchi, India. Fresh from a Ukraine visit to participate in the World Youth Athletic Championships 2013 is Samith Lakmal. A young student of Ratnapura Seevali Vidyalaya, Samith has shined in both 100 metre and 200 metre events and is the Schools record holder for the 200 meters. He too secured a bronze in 200 meters at India and a Gold Medal in the relay. “If it wasn’t for Janashakthi, I would not be competing right now, since I could not afford the expenses involved. Janashakthi Insurance gave me one of the best gifts I have ever received- the chance to represent my country and in doing so, fulfil my own long-held dream of being a great athlete,” an enthusiastic Samith said. Also from Ratnapura, Prince College student Malin Udaya Kumara won a silver medal at the South Asian Junior Athletics Championships last month in the 110 metre hurdles event. He holds unbeatable records in the under 15, 17 and 19 age categories in the long jump event. Malin was also named the best athlete in the senior category at the Sir John Tarbet Athletics Championship. One of the brightest stars from the current batch of athletes sponsored by Janashakthi is 17 years old Rumeshi Ratnayake from St. Joseph’s Girls School, Kegalle. She is the National Schools Champion for 100 metres and 200 meters. She has represented Sri Lanka at the World Junior Championships, the Asian Schools Championships and the SAARC Junior Championships in 2013. She secured two bronzes and Gold at the latter meet. Akila Ravishanka a 16 year old from Uda Walawe, has already done Sri Lanka proud by winning a Silver medal in the Asian Junior Championships held in China, in 2013. Each of these athletes are brimming with talent and drive, but were almost thwarted from fulfilling their dream due to economic challenges that they faced. However, they are now able to follow their passion and bring honour and glory to Sri Lanka. Parents of some of these Athletes with tears in their eyes have thanked the company for enabling their children to continue with Athletics and be able to represent Sri Lanka.