By Dhammika Ratnaweera
Sri Lankan para athletes returned home on Sunday with their best performances ever at an Asian Games when they won 14 medals including four golds in Jakarta, Indonesia over the last five days.
With last day’s silver, Sri Lankans accumulated a total of 14 medals with four golds, six silvers and four bronzes to finish at 14th place out of 43 countries participated in the edition of Asian Para Games.
Team manager Colonal Deepal Herath said that this was the first time Sri Lankan won 14 medals, with the highest number gold medals at Asian Para Games. “We had done two clean sweeps in podium positions in 100m and 200m T42 event. We have the Asia’s fastest para athlete in the event. We are proud of Amila Prasan particularly for his achievement” said Colonel Deepal adding that Amila was the first para athlete to win gold medals for sprint events for Sri Lanka.
Team captain Dinesh Priyantha Herath guided his team with example by winning the Javelin Throw event and established a new Games record.
Sri Lanka also won a bronze medal in wheel chair tennis doubles event, making it the first time to earn an accolade at an Asian event. Amara Indumathi from MAS Holdings was the only female athlete to win a silver medal, when she came second in long jump.
A delegation of high ranking officials from the Sport Ministry were present on Sunday evening at the Katunayake airport to welcome the victorious para athletes and the ministry of sports have organised an official felicitation ceremony for the Sri Lankan para contingent at the ministry auditorium on Monday at 09.30 in the morning.
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