The Team

    1007

    The bunch that eat, breath and live sport.

    A journey that began with just four crew members has now escalated into a full blown sports unit dedicated to taking Sri Lanka sports to new heights. Here is some insight to them.


    Dishan De Saa

    The go-to man of the site, he is the jack of all seasons!! He watches over every aspect of the website. Technical is his forte and is in charge of the entire site.  While his duties cover with content, operations, administration,  technical, Digital Media, live streaming to name a few. Being the general watchdog while keeping all breast of happenings and changes.

    An ardent cricket fan, ThePapare crew are always versatile because of his fervent for sports. Dishan has become the nerve-centre of ThePapare and enough is not said about his contribution towards the site. Sheer passion for sports drove him to take a full time position at ThePapare.com.


    Damith Weerasinghe

    Heads the content and the cricket section of ThePapare and his knowledge of those playing the game of Cricket in Sri Lanka is equalled by none.  He can spout facts and figures on any game played at any level and is the reason he scribes the weekly column ‘around the wickets’

    Former Josephian 1st XI cricketer and athlete turned professional club cricketer Damith is an impassioned Cricket and Rugby enthusiastic. His rugby and cricket reporting is now used as the benchmark at ThePapare as he is equally skilled and knowledgeable at both.

    Damith is completed the business management degree at the NSBM and Papare held him to full time duty at the website as his contribution to both cricket and rugby has become immeasurable.

    His eating habits are a constant source of amusement as he will always have 2 servings of anything but remain skin and bone. His facebook likes is a phenomenon of its own and it’s a known joke in the circle that a photograph of him is a ‘must-have’ in any album to increase likes.


    Navod Wijewickrema

    Heading the football section of the site, Navod has single-handedly secured a following for the sport of football on the site.  He together with his team covers every game of the football leagues in the country which is a phenomenal feat not to mention the boost it has given the sport.

    His love for the ‘beautiful game’ ignited when AC Milan met Barcelona in the Champions League Final. Since then he had seen it all from the Treble winning run of Manchester United, The Invincibles of Arsenal, Pep’s Barca, Mourinho’s Chelsea, Inter and Real Madrid. He dreams of those magical European nights like Manchester United v Bayern Munich (’99), Liverpool v AC Milan (’05), Inter Milan v Barcelona (’10). He may not have a favourite from the top four but when it comes to the international stage he ‘Bleeds Oranje.’

    He represented S.Thomas’ College in Football, Badminton and Chess. He was also an editor of the College Newsletter ‘The Ternion’ and his thirst for sports and current affairs landed him a place in the Quiz Team which won the All Island Championship.

    Juggling his two degrees to become a financial analyst, Navod can easily aspire to a full time journalist position in main-stream media. A fervent for other sports, he has a hard time switching between channels to catch multiple sports. If anyone is kind enough to donate him an extra TV he would greatly appreciate it.


    Lelum Mahakumara 

    Lelum ‘lella’ Mahakumara joined the site in 2014 and because of his diligence to the task at hand was given in charge of the Athletics and Basketball segments.  He reports rugby and also assists in many of the admin processes and projects of the site.  From the time he joined ‘Lella’ as he is known by his mates, he contributed his opinions forthrightly and despite being the baby of the site his precise opinion is valued by all.

    A product of St. Peter`s College, Colombo-04, he was the president of the Peterite Media Unit which paved his way to journalism. He also played in the St.Peter`s College Basketball team which became the team of the year in 2013. He is currently awaiting the Advanced Level results and in the interim has taken on this position joining the crew eating his meals off a lunch box and spoon.

    Through Lelum’s instigation some of ThePapare’s social media platforms were introduced as he remains a thorn in the side till the job gets done.

    He says he is straight and he likes girls hence all the interviews on girls are handed over to him. If you are a girl and wants to be featured on the site, he is the man.


    Viraj Kothalawala

    Easily the most creative photographer of the gang, his ability to capture moment in stark clarity and precision timing has made him a sort-after for top events.  Viraj also steps in with his technical knowledge taking on live-streaming assignments etc.  He remains a top choice for photography and also takes on bulk of the work.

    Viraj is a businessman who has the luxury of being able to indulge in his passion of photography in his free time.

    He is one of the quieter ones in the crew, meticulously at his work while the rest of the bunch jabber noisily around.