We never overexposed Herath to major events – SL Chef-de-Mission

Chef-de-Mission of the Sri Lanka Paralympics Team Major General Rajitha Ampemohotti said the success of Dinesh Priyantha Herath in Tokyo was due to his non exposure to international events in the recent past.

“We never overexposed Herath to major international events but he continued with his training in a systematic way with the backing of the Sports Ministry,” he explained.

“Our focus was on the Indian javelin throwers, who were exposed too much to several international events in the recent past,” he noted.

“Herath is a well disciplined athlete and his dedication to the sport paved the way to win the Gold Medal,” Ampemohotti added.

“During the COVID-19 pandemic we never halted our national pool practices and the coaches also gave their maximum support to the athletes.”

“We came here (Tokyo) not just for participation sake but we wanted to see our athletes on the podium and I was very happy to hear the national anthem at the Games for the first time.”

“Sri Lanka Army has always given their best support for the para athletes while providing all the facilities to achieve their goals,” he emphasised.

“The para athletes have proved their abilities very well and we as the National Paralympics Committee have given our best support to the athletes with good infrastructure facilities.”

“As a national sports body, NPC always has a vision to move forward and our long-term plan as well as the short-term plans are always successful,” Ampemohotti concluded.