Young Amandika hits spotlight
Sri Lanka Schools shooting sensation Amandika Amarasinghe earned the highest accolade for her prolific performances, as she became the Best Athlete of the Year at the National Shooting Sport Federation (NSSF) Awards Ceremony 2019, held at the Raffles Banquet Hall in Kotte.
Amarasinghe, a student of Devi Balika Vidyalaya who had represented Sri Lanka as an aspiring and prolific shooter, was the cynosure of the NSSF Awards Ceremony, also winning important segments, including the Best Young and Junior Athlete of the Year.
Besides winning couple of segments, Amarasinghe also pocketed the award for the Best Junior Performer at the National Championship 2019. She won gold medals in the 10m Air Rifle Open for Women and also in the 10m Air Rifle for Junior Women, to earn three important awards and be the cynosure of the evening.
Army, equipped with experienced and talented shooters, claimed gold medals in eight events and were the worthy winners of the Overall Championship at the NSSF Awards Ceremony. L.L.B. Wijayarathna, another young shooter representing Sri Lanka Schools, bagged the Best Emerging Athlete of the Year award while Jeremy Fernando won the Best Emerging Shotgun Athlete of the Year award.
Athugala Sport Shooting Club was named the Best Emerging Club of the Year, while Johann Fernando went on to emerge the Best Shotgun Athlete of the Year for 2019. Navy emerged as Team Event Champions.
Seven former shooting stars were presented with Lifetime Achievement Medals for their untiring contribution to uplift the sport in Sri Lanka, under two categories. Incumbent NSSF President Shirantha Peries and Zal Chitty were rewarded with Gold Awards for their invaluable contribution to uplift shooting sports in Sri Lanka. Brigadier A.M.A. Chandrasiri, Russel Gray, Elmore Rodrigo, Pradeep Edirisinghe and Lt. Col. Thilak
Dissanayake were presented with Silver Awards.
NSSF President Peries, a keen clay target shooter himself, explained the importance of working as a unit to overcome obstacles and achieve more than what shooting has gained during the recent years.
"We have developed in many ways over the years. At the recently concluded Nationals, it was overwhelming to see the participation in numbers of girls and women. We are still battling to have a national shooting range, managed by the NSSF, but it looks that the process will be delayed further. But if we stand as a unit, back each other as we have all these years, we can soon achieve that," Peries stated during his speech.
In addition four former shooters and present officials were presented with Golden Star awards for their contribution as volunteers, while seven shooters were presented with Silver Star awards for their commitment as athletes.
Brigadier A.M.A. Chandrasiri, the former President of National Rifle Association graced the occasion as the Chief Guest while Suresh Subramaniam, the Chairman of National Olympic Committee was the Guest of Honour. Subramaniam, overwhelmed by the unity of the shooting fraternity, pledged that NOC will enlist shooting sport as an important and potential medal-winner in the future.
"Before I was elected the Chairman of NOC, I had a different perspective about sports. But it changed after doing field visits and personally witnessing what it takes to produce a medal-winning athlete. As I have observed, three components are needed for a sport and athlete to reach the next level. They are dedication from the athlete, commitment from the parents and the backing of the organisation.
In most sports I have only seen the first two, but in shooting I see all three aspects well and truly combined. The NOC is keen to support shooting, as we identify the sport as a discipline that could win medals internationally," Subramaniam outlined.