Sri Lanka’s national schools debating team finished first out of more than 80 countries after the preliminary rounds of the World Schools Debating Championship, the best result the country has recorded at the tournament.
The championship was held in Nairobi, Kenya, from 14 to 24 July, drawing more than 700 students, coaches and judges. Sri Lanka won seven of its eight preliminary debates to top the standings — the first time a Sri Lankan team has led the preliminary table, and an improvement on the previous national best of fourth place in 2023. The team went on to the double octo-finals.
Across the eight preliminary rounds Sri Lanka faced several of the strongest debating nations in the competition, among them the Republic of Korea, Hong Kong, Canada and New Zealand, on motions ranging from the role of sport in society to global politics, economic policy and international affairs.
“Placing 1st in the world after the preliminary rounds is a special result for Sri Lanka,” said Shalem Sumanthiran, the national team’s coach for 2026. “It really shows how much talent and hard work allows a small, non-English speaking nation to compete and win against the best. The country should be proud of what they’ve achieved on the world stage.”
Individual results
Savith Wijesundara of Elizabeth Moir School finished fourth best speaker in the world and first in the English as a Second Language category, another national first. Rudhesh Ram of Colombo International School placed seventh best speaker overall, and Adam Dhilshan of Royal College was ranked sixth best ESL speaker.
The five-member team also included T. Tharaniharan of Royal College and Apoorva Jinadasa of Hillwood College. Sumanthiran coached the side alongside Sachin Tissera and Kavindra Senaratna.
How the team is picked — and paid for
Selection is run by the Debaters’ Council of Sri Lanka, which administers the national schools circuit. Debaters compete in more than 15 council-endorsed tournaments a year before applications open for the National Pool, from which candidates go through training and trial rounds before the final five are chosen.
Unlike many of the teams Sri Lanka debated against, several of which receive substantial government backing, the Sri Lankan side is funded jointly by the Debaters’ Council and by the families of the five selected students. The council’s main source of funding for the national team is the South Asian Schools Debating Championship.
