Sri Lanka’s official contingent for the 20th Asian Games departs on Sunday 13 September, with 156 athletes competing across 25 sports at a Games opening in Nagoya, Japan on 19 September.
Eighteen of those athletes come from the Sri Lanka Air Force, the Daily Mirror reported — a little under 12% of the squad from a single service.
Who leads
World champion javelin thrower and Air Force athlete Sergeant Rumesh Tharanga will lead the entire Sri Lankan contingent.
He arrives as the country’s most decorated current track-and-field athlete. Tharanga won javelin gold at the Commonwealth Games in July, was promoted to sergeant by the Air Force days after returning home, reclaimed the world number one ranking in August and threw 92.07m to win the Zurich Diamond League before contesting the Diamond League final in Brussels last week.
Group Captain Eranda Geeganage of the Air Force is Chef de Mission. He is Secretary of the Air Force Sports Council, President of the Sri Lanka Squash Association and a member of the International Military Sports Council.
Air Force pentathlete Flying Officer Isiwarana de Silva will carry the national flag at both the opening and closing ceremonies.
Not reported
The Daily Mirror does not list the 25 sports, name any athlete in the contingent other than the three above, or give the split between men and women. It does not state which events Tharanga will contest, or when the javelin is scheduled. No medal target is given, and the article does not say who selected the squad or how the 156 figure compares with Sri Lanka’s previous Asian Games contingents.
Sources: Daily Mirror.
