Diyagama Multi-Sport venue gift from President Rajapaksa

The new International Sports Stadium Complex is the greatest prize Sri Lanka sport has received. Thanks to the untiring efforts of President Mahinda Rajapaksa, the multi-sport venue will be a tremendous achievement in the annals of Sri Lanka sport.

Other than the Sugathadasa Sports Stadium Complex in Colombo, the Mahinda Rajapaksa Sports Stadium Complex in Diyagama, Homagama is the only multi sport venue of international standard that Sri Lanka has.

The old Sugathadasa Stadium - both the indoor and the outdoor, were developed into an international sports complex in 1991 under the patronage of the then President R. Premadasa. That was mainly to host the Vth South Asian Games in Colombo in 1991.

But the Mahinda Rajapaksa Sports Stadium Complex in Diyagama is far superior to that of Sugathadasa Stadium. More importantly, the newest sports complex has been built not to host any international event hurriedly but to offer better training facilities to the country's budding sportsmen and women.

Nevertheless, after a few domestic competitions for the local sportsmen and women to familiarise, Mahinda Rajapaksa Sports Stadium Complex could well turn out to be the most sought-after sports venue in the South Asian region. It would even be in a position to host any international athletic meet.

Being a versatile Public Schools athlete during his day, President Rajapaksa has also headed the country's national governing body for athletics in 1997 - the year in which Sri Lanka bagged its first ever medal in an IAAF World Championship. President Rajapaksa has a passion for sport and has always been a tower of strength to the country's sportsmen and women.

Hence, there is no surprise Sri Lanka sport being gifted with a top class stadium of this nature during the first term of President Rajapaksa. In fact, Sri Lanka sport has reached greater heights during the past four years under the inspiring leadership of the President.

President Rajapaksa has not only been instrumental in eradicating terrorism with a dynamic and inspiring leadership to our valiant Security Forces but has also opened a golden chapter in Sri Lanka sport.

The influence and guidance of the President was immense to promote sports at various levels. Sri Lanka lived up to expectations as a great sporting nation in the Asian region while making vast strides on the international scene, both here and overseas in almost every game.

Thanks to the untiring efforts of President Rajapaksa whose passion for sport has lifted the entire nation towards a new era. The sports-loving President has made an immense contribution for the promotion and development of sports throughout the island. Despite his busy schedule, President Rajapaksa has always made it a point to witness some of the key sports events to inspire our sportsmen and women.

It was due to his backing that the World Cup cricket will be coming to Hambantota next year. Sri Lanka cricket team has been going from strength to strength, winning the Asia Cup and several other titles during the past four years. Sri Lanka clinched the Asia Cup beating a star studded Indian batting line up at the National Stadium in Karachi.

President Rajapaksa's last couple of weeks of his first term as the President was sealed with the Tri-Series victory in Bangladesh, beating India comfortably in the final.

Sri Lanka also stamped their class in the longer version of the game and reached the number two position in the ICC Rankings for the first time since gaining Test status. This was a tremendous achievement considering the fact that the country had limited opportunities against some of the top test playing nations.

Spin wizard Muttiah Muralitharan's huge success was another reason in Sri Lanka achieving many milestones during this period in all forms of the game. After shattering Shane Warne's record for the most number of wickets in Test cricket, Muralitharan also became the proud holder of two individual World records, a feat that will be hard to emulate or beat.

Sri Lanka cricket team certainly maintained their consistency and also emerged runners up at the ICC Twenty20 World Cup in England. Sri Lanka may have come out as the second best team in this tournament, but there was one player who was able to gain world focus simply for his innovative style of batting. Dashing opener Tillekeratne Dilshan had the cricketing world on his palm for two week's of pure entertainment that helped him to win the Player of the Series Award.

As usual, Sri Lanka had its own share in the field of athletics. Susanthika Jayasinghe won women's 200m bronze medal at the IAAF World Championships in Osaka, 2007.

Chaminda Wijekoon created history when he won a gold medal for his excellent performance in the men's 1,500m at the Lusafonia Games held in Lisbon this year. The lad has now been appointed as the overall captain of the Sri Lanka contingent for the forthcoming South Asian Games.

Undoubtedly, our sportsmen and women are set to enjoy a rich harvest at the South Asian Games so that they could signal President Rajapaksa's second term on a golden note.

During the golden era of four years under the President, Sri Lanka achieved another rare feat at world level when Prasanna Peiris bagged 65kg weight class silver medal at the 63rd World Bodybuilding Championships last year.

In the ring sport, women boxers came into recognition with Nilmini Jayasinghe winning a gold medal at the World championships in Petersburg, Russia. Her team mate Anusha Kodituwakku bagged a bronze medal at the Women's Indoor Games held in Hanoi, Vietnam.

It was also heartening to see Sri Lanka's national netball team regaining the Asian championships with a dazzling performance in Malaysia. Their success had a great amount of significance considering the fact that the last time they won this event was way back in 2002.

The keen interest shown by the President to promote sport should enable Sri Lanka to do even better in future, especially at the upcoming South Asian Games in Bangladesh from later this month and the Asian Games in China later this year.