Winning an Olympic medal or even qualifying to compete in the Olympic Games is an extraordinary achievement that stands as the ultimate pinnacle of an athlete’s career. This achievement goes beyond a personal triumph; it resonates with the nation they represent, filling people with immense pride. As Sri Lankans, we are no exception to this collective celebration. We eagerly await the day when our own champions rise to victory on the world stage, inspiring us all with their success.

As the qualification period ended, six Sri Lankan athletes secured their golden tickets to compete in the 2024 Summer Olympics in Paris, France. The team includes athletes competing in badminton, swimming, and track and field events.

Sri Lanka’s highest-ranked shuttler, Viren Nettasinghe, currently 74th in the world, has qualified for the Olympics to compete in the Badminton Men’s Singles event. This achievement also marks him as the youngest individual on the list to secure a direct qualification for the Olympics.

Born on June 17th, 2003, Viren is now 21 years old. From a very young age, he has actively represented Sri Lanka on the global badminton stage, winning numerous medals. Among his recent notable achievements, Viren secured a silver medal at the 2023 XPORA Indonesia International Challenge. In 2024, he participated in the 32nd Iran Fajr International Challenge and the Victor Swedish Open Tournaments, both of which are Olympic qualification events, and he earned bronze medals at both. With his unwavering commitment to excellence and unshakeable courage, we wish him the best of luck at the Paris Olympics and hope he brings a medal home to Sri Lanka.

Speaking of aquatics, two talented Sri Lankan swimmers have earned their coveted spots to compete in the Olympic waters.

Ganga Senavirathne has earned her place in the women’s 100m backstroke event with an achievement of 688 FINA points, while Kyle Abeysinghe qualified for the men’s 100m freestyle with an impressive 776 FINA points.

Ganga was born on May 27th, 2003, and is 21 years old. From a young age, she began her remarkable journey towards the Olympics, driven by a commitment to excellence. Through relentless training and unwavering courage, Ganga achieved notable standings at the 2023 World Aquatics Championships in Fukuoka, Japan, ranking 37th in the 200m backstroke and 48th in the 100m backstroke. In 2024, at the 21st World Aquatics Championships held in Doha, Qatar, she further solidified her performance, securing the 31st position in the 200m backstroke and the 38th position in the 100m backstroke. Not only that, Ganga also demonstrated her prowess at the Commonwealth Games 2022, she achieved significant placements, finishing 20th in the 100m backstroke and 10th in the 200m Backstroke. Continuing her streak of triumphs Ganga participated in the Asian Games 2023, where she secured 16th place in the 200m Backstroke, and 23rd place in the 50m Backstroke. Additionally, she secured a silver medal at the 18th Singapore National Swimming Championship in 2023. Earlier, in 2019, she successfully bagged three silver medals and one bronze for Sri Lanka at the XIII South Asian Games held in Kathmandu. And our hope is for her to triumph in Paris too.

Kyle Abeysinghe, the younger brother of Sri Lankan swimming star Matthew Abeysinghe, is currently 24 years old, born on February 4th, 2000. With swimming ingrained in his life from a young age, Kyle has pursued his goals with unwavering dedication, achieving notable milestones such as being a finalist at the Commonwealth Games, earning multiple medals at the South Asian Games, including Gold, Silver, and Bronze, and securing two Silver medals at the 2017 Commonwealth Youth Games. As a seven-time National and Junior National Champion and a record holder at the national level, Kyle is now poised to dive into the Olympic pool aiming to conquer a medal for Sri Lanka.

Recently, Sri Lankan sports enthusiasts had a double celebration as both Tharushi Karunarathne and Dilhani Lekamge qualified for the Olympics in track and field events.

Tharushi Karunarathne has secured her place in the Women’s 800m event, ranking 44th among the top 48 athletes, while Nadeesha Lekamge has qualified for the Women’s Javelin Throw event, ranking 25th among the top 32 qualifiers.

At just 19 years old, born on November 18th, 2004, Tharushi Karunarathne has become one of the most discussed athletes recently. All eyes were eagerly set on her qualification for the Paris Olympics. And she rightfully earned her golden ticket to the 800m event, a testament to her relentless training and unwavering determination. Tharushi’s accomplishment comes as no surprise, given her impressive track record.

At the 19th Asian Games, she clinched a gold medal in the 800m and a bronze in the 4x400m relay. She also set an Asian Championship record and a national record with her gold medal-winning time of 2:00.66 in the 800m at the Asian Athletic Championship 2023. Also, the relay teams she was in successfully secured silver in both the 4x400m and 4x400m mixed relay events at the same championship.

At the Asian U20 Championship, Tharushi continued her success with a gold in the 800m, a silver in the 400m, and another gold in the 4x400m mixed relay with her team. Many people hold high hopes for her to achieve great success at the Olympics, having witnessed her string of victories.

Nadeesha Dilhani Lekamge, the eldest member of the Sri Lankan Olympic team, is currently 37 years old, born on January 14th, 1987. She also stands as the highest-ranked Sri Lankan athlete on the road to Paris Olympics ranking list. Much like Tharushi, many Sri Lankans have high hopes for her as well, given all the triumphs and records she has achieved. In 2023, Nadeesha secured a silver medal in the women’s javelin throw finals at the 19th Asian Games in Hangzhou, China, with a new personal best of 61.57 meters. This marked Sri Lanka’s first athletics medal at the Asian Games since 2006 and the country’s first-ever javelin medal in Asian Games history.

Before that, her personal best throw was 60.93m, achieved at the Asian Athletic Championship 2023 in Bangkok, where she won a bronze medal.

Even after the qualification period ended, Sri Lanka got lucky to hear exciting news. By June 30th, only 48 athletes were slated to participate. However, during the past few days, some athletes withdrew from the list due to injuries and various other reasons. As a result, the next athletes on the list were granted Olympic qualifications. That’s how Sri Lanka’s sprint champion Aruna Darshana qualified for the men’s 400m event placing 47th on the qualified list. Before that Aruna was ranked 51st on the list.

Aruna Darshana was born on January 19th, 1999, and is 25 years old now. He’s the only male track athlete participating in the Olympics this year and the first athlete from Sri Lanka to qualify for the Olympic 400m event after 20 years. Many believed that he could follow in the footsteps of former veteran athlete Sugath Thilakaratne. Aruna himself dreamed of becoming an Olympian and dedicated countless days to vigorous training. His hard work and determination paid off when he was finally selected, proving that dreams can come true, even at the very last opportunity.

He first made our nation hopeful for a promising star athlete when he won first place in the men’s 400m event clocking 46.16 seconds. Since then, he has continued to uphold our nation’s hope by bagging numerous medals in various championships.

He managed to achieve gold medals in almost every event he participated in, in 2024, including the 2nd Belt & Road Athletic Championship-China, Taiwan Open Athletic Championship, 102nd National Championship where he clocked 45.50 seconds, and the 59th Army Athletic Championship where he achieved his personal best time of 45.30 seconds. He was also part of the 4×400 relay team at the Asian Athletics Championships in Thailand, where they clinched the gold medal. With so many golds and a string of victories to his name, we wholeheartedly hope he brings back a gold medal from Paris as well.

Many are optimistic about the possibility of Olympic medals this year, with heartfelt support pouring in for Sri Lankan contenders. As a nation, we wholeheartedly wish them a safe journey and hope they achieve success, set new records, and bring medals home to Sri Lanka.