Amila Prabath the cricketer turned weightlifter-by Upananda Jayasundera-Kandy Sports Special Correspondent

Amila Prabath

Source:Dailynews

Thirty year old, K.T.Amila Prabath, an old boy of Meepawala Amarasuriya Vidyalaya,Galle is a Cricketer as well as a Weight-lifter and he started cricket at School level under the Coaching of O.M.Nandika Nishantha, a Level one Cricket Coach attached to Sri Lanka Cricket. Amila started Cricket in the Under Thirteen to

Under Seventeen level representing the School in the Division Three Cricket as a Left Hand Batsman. In the year 2005 at the Division three All Island Cricket Tournament playing for the Under 13 team his highest score was Fifty three runs against Deva Pathiraja Vidyalaya, Ratgama and in the same year against Dharmasoka Vidyalaya, Ambalangoda , he scored a half century.

At the Under Seventeen tournament he scored sixty runs against Mahinda College, Galle at the All Island Division three Schools Cricket tournament. In the year 2009, at the age of Eighteen years, he joined the Sri Lanka Army Signal Corps and he started Weight Lifting and at the Inter Unit Weight lifting Championship Amila came first in his weight class and he was encouraged to continue the game under the instructions of Brigadier Ratnayake at the Inter Unit Meet and the Judges of the particular Meet saw his talent and introduced him to the outstanding Weightlifting Coach, Athula Wijewickrema, an International Weightlifter cum Weightlifting Coach. Amila started training under Athula Wijewickrema and he took part at the

Intermediate Weight Lifting Contest in 2016 under the 62 Kg.Weight Class securing first place in the Contest. In the same year, he was placed third at the National Sports Festival, and again he was placed third at the XIII National Sports Festival lifting a full total of 226 Kgs. contesting in the 63 Kgs. Weight class. In 2018 he secured the second place lifting the same Weight Class and he won colours for Weightlifting from the Southern Province in the year 2014, 2017 and 2018.

Amila Prabath is thankful to his Coaches of Weightlifting and Cricket for the support and assistance given to him to come to this standard and at present he wants to concentrate only in Weightlifting. His intention is to come up to an International Standard in Weightlifting.