Road to Rio 2016

Nine Member Paralympic Team vie for Honours at Rio Games

The nine-man Sri Lankan contingent for the 2016 Paralympic Games will take wing to Rio, Brazil in September. The team will be led by Anil Prasanna Jayalath who will compete in the T42 100 and 200 meters and the Long Jump, whilst Gamini Ekanayake and Dinesh Priyantha Herath will take part in F44 Javelin and Sampath Hettiarcahchi will take part in the F46 Javelin Throw. Ajith Hettiarachchi will line up alongside the captain for the T 44 100 and 200 meters and the 400 meters. Amara Indumathi will compete in the women’s T47 200 and 400 meters, and the Long Jump, together with Indika Chuladasa in the T42 100 and 200 meters. Upali Rajakaruna will be serving for the country in wheelchair tennis, whilst Sampath Bandara will aim for medals with Archery.

The Sri Lankan Paralympic Contingent to Rio is powered by Dialog Axiata, Sri Lanka’s premier telecommunications service provider, who is a long-standing partner of disabled sports in Sri Lanka. Dialog is the proud sponsor of the National Paralympics Committee and the Sri Lanka Army Para Games Committee from 2015 to 2017, and first sponsored the Sri Lanka Paralympic contingent in the year 2000, followed by 2004, 2008 and 2012 including sponsorship of the National Sports Festival for the Disabled.

The Sri Lankan contingent is vying for another Medal at the Rio Games after the heroics of Paralympian, Pradeep Sanajaya, who won the nation’s first medal at the 2012 London Paralympic Games. Pradeep Sanjaya secured a bronze medal in the 400 meter T46 category with a timing of 49.28 seconds to secure Sri Lanka's first podium finish at the Paralympics. At the IPC Asia-Oceania Championships this year, Sri Lanka paralympians won six Gold Medals, four Silvers and five Bronze medals, and are expected to excel at the main stage in Rio.

Dialog was also the proud sponsor of the Army Para Games for 2015, empowering disabled servicemen to compete for top honors in 14 disciplines, including athletics, archery, badminton, cycling, shooting, table tennis, power lifting, wheelchair marathon, wheelchair tennis, wheelchair basketball, swimming, sitting volleyball, beach volleyball and seven-a-side softball cricket.