A man worth his weight in gold

Tuesday 31st August, 2021

These troubled times are devoid of anything positive, but some good news came yesterday, from Tokyo, enlivening the depressed Sri Lankans, who are fighting the pandemic and battling lockdown blues. Dinesh Priyantha Herath set a new Paralympic world record in the men’s F46 javelin throw, clearing a distance of 67.79 metres. He clinched Sri Lanka’s maiden gold in Paralympics, and held the national flag, which, commentators say, he did not let go of even for a second, and carried all the way to the changing room. Such is the love this former soldier has for his country. Even the ranks of Tuscany would have been swept up in euphoria on beholding such an ennobling sight. Another former Sri Lankan soldier, Dulan Kodituwakku, won a bronze in the Paralympic F64 javelin throw final; it was also no mean achievement.

Dinesh is no ordinary human being. He is a fighter in a league of his own. He fought valiantly as a soldier went above and beyond the call of duty, proved his mettle in battle, suffered serious injury and was rendered hors de combat. The real war for Dinesh began thereafter. He had to fight really hard to turn his disability into ability; his challenge was to train the hand that once dexterously wielded the gun to hold the javelin despite his injury. Besides, he had only his army pension, but he could always rely on his wife to have his back. Good soldiers never say die. Dinesh fought on. The javelin was kind to him. He told the media, after his record-shattering throw, that the javelin had given him everything. In fact, it did, and has made him what he is today––a hero.

Dinesh’s rise in the world of sports has been truly impressive and inspiring. So is that of Dulan, who also did not allow his disability to disable him. Dinesh came third in the men’s F46 javelin throw final at the 2016 Summer Paralympics in Rio. He worked hard, hurled the javelin quite a lot in his backyard, and graduated from the bronze to a silver in the 2017 World Para Athletics Championships, and went on to secure a gold at the 2018 Asian Para Games, setting a new Asian Para Games record in javelin throw. He won a silver in the men’s F46 category at the 2019 World Para Athletics Championships.

Behind every successful sportsperson, there is a coach. Dinesh and Dulan are lucky to have Pradeep Nishantha as their trainer. Nishantha was confident that his charges would surpass themselves in Tokyo. He said so in an interview with this newspaper, last week, and his prediction has come true.

The achievements of Dinesh and Dulan in Tokyo make one wonder what those who represent Sri Lanka at the Olympics have been doing all these years. Since Susanthika ran all the way from Kegalle to Sydney to bring home an Olympic Silver, no one has even come close to winning a medal at Olympics. But every four years, a long procession of athletes and officials leaves the BIA. These worthies return without bringing anything other than their luggage. A few weeks ago, many officials, several junketing politicians and some Sri Lankan athletes were in Tokyo for the Olympics. They went, they saw, and they returned, empty-handed.

Then there are Sri Lankan cricketers whose ratings continue to get downgraded like Sri Lanka’s creditworthiness. We once had great cricketers who played Test cricket while they were still at the school-going age. Today, Test cricketers play like schoolboys. Let these ‘disabled’ national cricketers who cannot even puff on fags without getting caught be urged to learn from Dinesh and Dulan how to improve their performance.

Now that two former soldiers have turned their disability into ability and done the country proud, it is up to the former high-ranking service personnel who have secured high positions, claiming to be able to make a difference, to prove their ability, if any.