Blog Archives

Lessons Learnt from Commonwealth Games Ceylon Today. – By Dr Tilak S. Fernando The youngest Sri Lankan medallist in the history of the Commonwealth Games, Nethmi Hansika (18 years old) brought honour to her motherland, Sri Lanka. Nethmi managed in Birmingham, UK, at the 22nd Commonwealth Games in August 2022 to defeat her opponent, Australian Irene Symeonidis, to win the historic bronze medal for women. It was a 57 kg ‘Freestyle Wrestling’ event at the Commonwealth Games held in Birmingham. She chose to contest against the Australian competitor, forgetting her coach’s advice on her own to fight the competitor, who was twelve years senior and more experienced than Nethmi. Her coach’s advice was to fight the Indian competitor who fought against her in the semi-finals.  Nethmi Fernando had a one-pointed resolution to bring honour to her motherland, as opposed to some elements who intermingled with the harmless protestors at the ...