Central Province Ministry of Education rewards Tharushi and coach Susantha

The event was held under the patronage of central province governor Lalith U Gamage. Also in the picture are Ajith Premasinghe, Chief Secretary Central Province, Athula Jayawardana, Assistant Director of Education (Sports and Physical Education) Central Province, Dhammika Herath, Principal of Ratnayake Central, Walala and Karunaratne’s parents.

Ministry of Education of Central Province felicitated Asian Athletics Championship medallist Tharushi Karunaratne of Ratnayake Central, Walala and her coach Susantha Fernando at a ceremony held on Saturday.

Both the athlete and the coach were rewarded for the outstanding performance produced at the regional championships held in July.

The Ministry of Education of Central Province has set an example by felicitating the athlete and the coach. Incidentally, some leading institutions including the Ministry of Sports are yet to act weeks after the historic achievement.

Tharushi Karunaratne created history in Thailand when she became the first Sri Lankan schoolgirl since Damayanthi Dharsha to win a medal at the Asian Championship. She beat her senior Sri Lankan team member Gayanthika Abeyratne and strong Indian counterpart K.M. Chanda in the final lap and returned a time of 2:00.66 seconds to win the gold in the women’s 800 metres. The Ratnayake Central, Walala prodigy also broke the Championship record of 2:01.16 seconds set by Zhang Jian (China) in 1998 at Fukuoka.

Karunaratne also won medals in the women’s 4×400 metres and the 4×400 metres mixed relay.