The year 2024 can be described as a year that brought many special events in sports, both nationally and internationally. For this reason, ThePapare realized that it is essential to take a look back at the national and international sports arenas in 2024.
It is no secret that the Paris Olympics became the sports event that attracted the most attention in the world last year. Aruna Darshana also succeeded in making this Olympic Games one that brought beautiful memories to the Sri Lankan audience. We are ready to relive the memories of the past year in the national and international sports arenas.
Football
With the beginning of the year 2024, the 2023 AFC Asian Cup football tournament also began. The tournament took a very heated turn, and in particular, Jordan, South Korea, and the host country Qatar were able to display outstanding talents in the tournament. Meanwhile, South Korea managed to win most of the matches they faced in the tournament in the last few minutes. However, the host country Qatar managed to win the trophy at the end of the tournament. They won the championship by recording a 3-1 victory over Jordan.
Meanwhile, the year 2024 became a special year for Sri Lankan football. In the 2024 FIFA Series tournament held in Sri Lanka in March this year, Sri Lanka managed to record a historic victory over Bhutan, and it was also special that former captain Mohamed Fazal, who had shown outstanding skills for Sri Lankan football, decided to bid farewell to his 16-year football career in that match. This match was held in the midst of a large crowd, and Fazal also received a special farewell. Sri Lanka also recorded a victory against Cambodia last September, and it was a special event that Sri Lankan players managed to finish a football match without a win or loss after 70 years against Myanmar last October. Due to these achievements, Sri Lanka was also able to make some progress in the FIFA football rankings.
Looking from the national football field to the international one, the 2024 Euro Cup and the 2024 Copa America Cup can be introduced as the two most talked-about tournaments of the past year. Here, Spain defeated England 2-1 to win the Euro Cup, and Argentina defeated Colombia to win the tournament.
Meanwhile, it is noteworthy that the Spanish team Real Madrid, which won the 2024 UEFA Champions League final 2-1 against the German team Borussia Dortmund, was able to win the tournament title once again.
In the last half of the year, the Ballon d’Or, which is the most highly regarded award in the world of football, was awarded to the Spanish footballer Rodri, and the fact that many expected Brazilian Vinícius Júnior came in second place was also a special event that attracted significant attention.
Rugby
The past year has also turned the national rugby field upside down. The CR & FC team, which was able to record a remarkable 33-25 victory over the Kandy team, which had dominated the national rugby league for 8 consecutive years, was able to win the tournament title, and it is noteworthy that they were able to win the league title after 26 years. It is also a special event that the Police Sports Club has managed to lift the Clifford Trophy again this year after 33 years since winning it in 1991.
Netball
The 13th Asian Netball Championship was held last October, and Sri Lanka participated in the tournament as the defending champions. They maintained their dignity throughout the tournament and managed to reach the final of the tournament, where they met Singapore, the other undefeated team in the tournament. This match also took a very heated turn, and the match had to be played until extra time to decide the winner. However, in the end, Singapore managed to win the match with a score of 67-64, and it was unfortunate that the Sri Lankan players had to be satisfied with the runner-up position.
National Athletics
On April 18, 2024, Nagalingam Ediriweerasingham, who left an indelible mark on Sri Lankan athletics, passed away. It is noteworthy that he was able to win Sri Lanka’s first Asian medal and also represented Sri Lanka in two Olympic Games.
Sri Lanka won five medals at the 21st Asian Junior Athletics Games held in April 2024. Sri Lankan athletes Madushani Herath, who represented the women’s triple jump event, and the men’s 100x4m relay also won two silver medals, while the Sri Lankan team representing the mixed 400x4m event and the Sri Lankan teams representing the women’s and men’s 400x4m events won three more bronze medals, marking a successful start to this year’s national athletics.
In May 2024, the World Para Athletics Championships were held in Japan, where Sri Lanka won a trio of medals. Dinesh Priyantha won the silver medal in the F46 javelin throw event but was later stripped of his medal due to a protest. Meanwhile, Samitha Dulan won a silver medal in the F64 men’s javelin throw event, while Palitha Bandara won two bronze medals in the F63 men’s javelin throw event, and Nuwan Indika won two bronze medals in the T44 100m event.
Meanwhile, Rumesh Tharanga, who managed to break the Sri Lankan national javelin throw record, came close to the 2024 Olympic qualification level by throwing a distance of 85.45 meters. However, he unfortunately missed out on the opportunity to qualify for the Olympics.
The past year has not been auspicious for Yupun Abeykoon, who can be introduced as a prominent name in Sri Lankan athletics. Due to a foot injury, he could not enter the ranks of the expected talents this year.
Meanwhile, the World Junior Athletics Championships were also held last August. Although Sri Lanka did not win any medals here, Ayomal Akalanka’s success in reaching the semi-finals of the men’s 400 meters event can be considered a special achievement. Malith Thamel and Indusara Vidushan also showed outstanding performances here.
Meron Wijesinghe became the fastest teenager in South Asia at the South Asian Junior Athletics Championships held last September. In addition, Sri Lanka won 9 gold medals, 9 silver medals, and 17 bronze medals in this tournament, winning a total of 35 medals. While India held the first place in the championship medal table, Sri Lanka, which became the only challenge to India, managed to come second in the medal table.
The Indoor World Athletics Championships, the World Relays Championships, and the Olympics can be introduced as the most focused events in international athletics last year. Regardless, it is no secret that the attention of the whole world was focused on the Olympics, and all other athletics events were held with the Olympics in mind.
The Olympics saw the world witness a number of athletics world records. Sweden’s Mondo Duplantis, who has been breaking his world record, once again broke the men’s pole vault world record, while American Sydney McLaughlin-Levrone, who represented the women’s 400-meter hurdles, also set a new world record in her event.
American Noah Lyles won the men’s 100-meter race, while Saint Lucia’s Julien Alfred won her country’s first Olympic medal in the women’s 100-meter race. Also noteworthy was the fact that Letsile Tebogo of Botswana, who won the 100-meter race, beat Lyles in his favorite event, the 200-meter race, to capture the world’s attention.
The United States of America won 14 gold medals in the highly successful Olympic athletics events.
Meanwhile, six athletes from Sri Lanka entered the field of competition representing this year’s Olympics. Among them, Aruna Darshana, who received the highest attention and paved the way for a beautiful memory in the Sri Lankan Olympic annals, managed to reach the semi-finals of the men’s 400 meters event, breaking the Sri Lankan national record. He also ran a very excellent race in the semi-finals, but his race was later canceled. However, Aruna’s performance can be introduced as one of the best moments in Sri Lankan sports last year without a doubt.
Many other athletes were able to show outstanding performances in their sports events during this Olympic Games held in Paris, France. Here, Simone Biles of the United States, who has received world recognition in gymnastics events, Leon Marchand of the host country France, Ariarne Titmus of Australia, and Katie Ledecky of the United States also performed excellently in swimming events.
By the end of the entire Olympic Games, China and the United States had won 40 gold medals each, and the United States took the lead in the medal table in terms of the total number of medals. A very intense battle was created for this, and the United States was able to take the lead in the medal table by winning the final event on the last day of the Olympic Games.
Paralympics
This year, the Paralympic Games were also held simultaneously with the Olympic Games, and China was able to take the lead in the medal table without any challenge. Sri Lanka managed to secure the 75th place in the medal table of this Paralympic Games, where 85 countries won medals, and Sri Lanka won one silver medal in this year’s tournament. Here, Samitha Dulan, who represented the F64/F44 men’s javelin throw event, broke the previous world record in that event and won the silver medal in the event.
In this way, the national and international sports arena was operational in the year 2024. Many sports events are scheduled to take place in the year 2025. ThePapare is always ready to bring that competition information closer to you. Stay tuned with ThePapare, Sri Lanka’s number one sports channel.
