Joes and Mahamaya take honours
The closing ceremony of the all island Aquatic Championships was directed in the presence of Honorable Minister of Education Mr. Banduala Gunawardana. Also to acknowledge the outstanding performances the special guests attending the were Monitoring MP for Ministry of Education and Ministry of Youth Affairs &Skills Development Mr. Mohanlal Grero and Assit Vice President of Beverages Nestle Lanka PLC Mr. Noraman Kannangara. Chief Guest’s message resonated on how achievements in sports help to endorse one’s studies. Being the chief financial bearer of the event Nestlé’s message was about how happy they are to endorse the event on a repeated note.
The final day of the aquatic sports was most celebrated of all days, especially among the athletes who have outperformed the previous records and come on top of their team mates. Most intense senior categories were awarded in individual and team wise. Considering the junior events the overall champions were selected on a school basis.
Starting off with the Junior Girl’s Championships Mahamaya College Kandy was leading with 322.5 points. This was more than double the total of overall points scored by the runners up Lyceum International School Wattala – 151. At the 3rd place was Ladies College with 108 points. Similarly considering junior Boy’s Championships Ananda College, St. Joseph’s College and Gateway College shared top three ranks with 191, 128 and 115 points respectively.
Next up the individual performances were recognized. The girl who surprised the spectators at the start of each and every day, Hiruni De Zoysa from Gateway College, was awarded first. K. Imesh Chaturanga of D.S. Senanayake College was the under 15 boy’s champion. Under 17 Girl Champion Machiko Raheem of Asian International School was the only athlete win a championship at 38 points where as all the others were at 45 points. K. T. Cherantha De Silva or Anadha College was followed by Ishani Erandika Senanayake of Srimavo Bandaranayake Vidyalaya for Under 17 boy’s Championships and Under 19 Girl’s championships. The boys’ Championships for the Under 19 Age category was shared between Shehan De Silva of Trinity College Kandy and Kanith Munasinghe of Royal College.
Finally among the mammoth cheers of the students the overall swimming championships were awarded to girl’s and boys’ schools separately. The girl’s school championship was drifted all the way to Kandy – Mahamaya College (614.5). The first Runners up were Visaka Vidyalaya and finally the second Runner up was Ladies College. Topping off the Boys’ swimming events was St. Joseph’s College with 622 points while Royal College and Ananda College settled down for 2nd and third places.
