National Olympic Committee Archives

Ahinsa becomes youngest medallist at Commonwealth Games Source : island Eighteen-year-old Nethmi Ahinsa from little known Indiminna, Pannala became Sri Lanka’s youngest medallist at the Commonwealth Games as she beat Australia’s Irene Symeonidis in the 57kg weight class to win a bronze medal in wrestling in Birmingham on Friday. She also became the country’s first medallist in the not so popular sport as she beat her Australian counterpart 10-0 in the freestyle event in the bronze medal fight. She had to settle for the bronze medal after being eliminated by Indian Anshu Malik in the semi-final bought. The wrestler from Welpalla Maha Vidyalaya advanced to the semi-final with a 10-0 victory over 34 year-old Cameroon athlete Joseph Emilienne Essombe Tiako. She hails from a family of four children. Following her victory, she thanked her parents for allowing her to engage in the sport and expressed her gratitude to T.S. Suranga Kumara who not only ...

Badminton wildcard Niluka targets ‘something special’ in Tokyo-BY ALLAAM OUSMAN Niluka Karunaratne Source:Sundayobserver Sri Lanka’s most experienced Olympian for the Tokyo Games, shuttler Niluka Karunaratne who battled Covid and numerous challenges to improve his world ranking to 99, is determined to prove “something special” this time. “I am very excited and very much motivated to play again for my country. It is an absolute honour and a privilege. I know with all the support in Sri Lanka and also with the Ministry of Sports, National Olympic Committee (NOC) and Sri Lanka Badminton (SLB), I can really do something special at this Olympics in Tokyo,” said Niluka who has taken part in London (2012) and Rio (2016). “It’s the same as the first time I have been taking part at the Olympics. The feeling when you are taking part in the Olympics is very exciting. The Olympics is the only event ...