Kapugedara among 343 junior sports stars to receve awards

The annual All Island schools colours nite organized by the Sri Lanka Schools Sports Council (SLSSC) and sponsored by Nestle Lanka Ltd will be held today at the P. de S. Kularatne Hall of Ananda College Colombo from 2.00 p.m. onwards.

Schools sportsman and sportswomen numbering to 342 selected from 119 schools around the island are expected to receive their colours for their outstanding performances in the 27 sports which comes under the umbrella SLSSC. Of the 343 recipients 211 are from the boy’s category and 132 from the girl’s category.

Rohan Karunaratne secretary of the SLSSC stated that the criteria of selecting the recipients were their performance at the Public Schools meets, representation fo the country at junior or senior national levels and excellence at sports activities conducted by the Education Department.

He further stated that the panel of judges have yet not selected the most outstanding and up and coming sportsman and sportswomen saying they have four recipients from both the boy’s and girl’s categories. They have named four from both the categories and the winner will be named on the day of the award ceremony.

In the boy’s category Chamara Kapugedera of Dharmaraja (Cricket), Dinuka Karunartne of Royal (Badminton), R..S. Kalugampitiya of Vidyartha Kandy (Chess) and Tharindu Samaraweera of S. Thomas’ Mt Lavinia (Table Tennis) are the four recipients while Nadeesha Dilhani de Silva of Kalutara BV (Netball), Chamila Dilhani Wijeratne of Pathiraja BV Gampola (Judo), L.G. Ayodha Liyanagedera of St Joseph’s BV Kegalle (Chess) and Kalpani Herath of Girl’s High School Kandy (Table Tennis) are the recipients in the girl’s category.

Royal College Colombo has the most number of winners with 18 followed by Ananda 16 along with St Joseph’s and Kingswood ten each.

The chief guest will be Sri Lanka’s world cup winning captain Arjuna Ranatunga with Norman Kannangara, Marketing Manager of Nestle Lanka Ltd as the guest of honour.