Table Tennis champion Udaya Ranasinghe of Vidyartha College and South Asian Games 200m gold medalist Rumeshika Ratnayaka were crowned Sportsman and Sportswoman for the year 2015 at the Sri Lanka Schools Colors Award ceremony held at BMICH yesterday.
The Sri Lanka Schools Colours Award Ceremony that was organized for the 24th successive occasion with the delightful sponsorship of Milo Sri Lanka saw 466 school sports personalities honored with Sri Lanka School Colours in 23 sporting disciplines. The Hon.Deputy Minister of Sport, Akila Viraj Kariyawasam, graced the glamour event.
Amongst the colours awards, the key highlight of the ceremony was the appreciation of the exceptional sportspersons and their achievements during the last 12 months. The four main awards for the day; Most Outstanding Sportsman, Outstanding Sportswoman, Emerging Sportsman & Emerging Sportswoman had the cream of the sporting arena in contest.
The Emerging Sportsman award went out to Akalanka Pieris of St. Peter’s College for his achievements in Swimming in the recently concluded Asian Schools Swimming Championships as well as for his past track record at the international circuit. The Peterite went on to win Silver in the 50m backstroke and in the 50m butterfly stroke at the School Swimming championships. The other notable nominees in the emerging sportsman category were national chess player Mohamed Shamil from D. S. Senanayaka College, table tennis’ Prasad Jayasanka de Silva and Udantha Amarasinghe of Maliyadewa College Kurunegala for his achievements in Karate.
Photo Album – Sri Lanka Schools Colours Awards Ceremony 2015
The Emerging Sportswoman award went out to Dasuni Hansika Mendis of Visakha Vidyalaya for her achievements in sport of chess. The 16 year old who is currently the third best in the country is also ranked 922 in the world and 187 in Asia. Her achievement to be in a top ranked position at a young age of 16 makes her the rightful candidate for the award. Other nominees included squash player Fathom Isadeen from Holy Family Convent, Hiruni Perera of Harischandra College for swimming and Ruvini Kannangara of Musaeus College.
The highlight of the evening was the awards for the Outstanding Sportsman and Sportswoman that were awarded for performing at the highest possible level in their respective discipline and thus bringing glory to the country. It was a close contest in the Outstanding Sportsman category with table tennis player Udaya Ranasinghe, Squash player Ravindu Laksiri and Athlete Chamal Kumarasinghe competing for the title. It was paddler Udaya Ranasinghe hailing from Vidyartha College in the hill-capital who won the prestigious award and was crowned Sportsman of the Year 2015.
The South Asian Gold medallist Rumeshika Ratnayake was the obvious choice for the Outstanding Sportswoman title for her performance in the South Asian Games winning the 100m at a time of 11.71 seconds. Her 100m performance outclassed the heavyweights India earning her the title of being the fastest woman in South Asia.
Missing out on the Sportswoman award were squash Commonwealth medalist Mihiliya Methsarani and table tennis player Muthumali Priyadarshani.
