Renewing a sixteen year old South Asian Record Himasha Eshan made Sri Lanka proud when he bagged the gold medal of 100m event at the recently concluded South Asian Games held in Guwahati, India.
He started telling us his story about getting into history books by talking about how he felt when he stepped foot on the plane that took him away from the motherland to the battlegrounds.
“Before I left the country for the championship I clocked the fastest timing during the qualifiers which was 10.36secs. With confidence I knew I already had the gold medal within my reach. So my determination was more focused on going beyond the medal and claiming the record which was under the name of an Indian athlete”.
The starting pistol fired up into the sky. Unexpectedly Eshan fumbled a bit on the start. Months of practice and sheer determination together with adrenaline pumping helped him gather his momentum in the blink of an eye. Eshan passed his fellow competitors one by one. When he stepped on that white finishing line the clock halted at 10.26secs; Himasha Eshan was crowned South Asia`s fastest man.
“I got a bad start which I did not expect, otherwise I am quite sure that I would have had recorded a timing of 10.16sec which is the Olympic qualifying time. Yet breaking a sixteen year drought with a new record I think I can be more than satisfied”.
The previous record was set in the year 1999 by an Indian athlete by the name of Anil Kumara who clocked 10.37sec.
The gold medallist started his winning habit when he participated in the 75m and 100m event in the schools’ athletics meet a decade back. Winning became a habit when he continued to dominate the events in zonal and district meets. He left his school Dodangoda MV and joined Kaluthara Maha Vidyalaya as a result of his brilliant performances on the track.
Eshan set his maiden record in the year 2004 in the under eleven 100m event at a district meet; his record is yet to be broken. Continuing on from there, in 2013 he claimed ownership for the 100m event at the Sir John Tarbet athletic meet. Extending his superiority beyond the seas he set a new record in the 200m event in the Junior Asian athletic championship. He also holds the record for the 100m event set during the 80th Junior National athletic championship.
They say that success is to be measured not so much by the position that one has reached but by the obstacles which one has overcome. In that context Eshan`s sporting career took a mighty hit when he was banned for nine months as he was accused of doping in the year 2012.
“Unfortunately I was found guilty for using banned substances. It was very unfortunate since I wasn’t even aware of it. I was lucky that I had my entire family and the coaches behind me. With their help I managed to pass on the days for those nine months which I would actually recall as a nightmare”.
He overcame the obstacle in style since he set the new meet record for the John Tarbet athletic championship the moment he returned to the track.
Yet, the pity is, even though we have talented athletes in the calibre of Himasha Eshan, the support that they should get from the federation is not at a desirable level.
“It would be great if they can lend us their fullest support at this crucial time. There is the Olympic Games coming up and we as athletes are in prime form. Hence this could be the best time and most crucial time where we need the support of the federation”.
He is already the fastest man in the South Asian region. He is just ten milli-seconds behind the qualifying time for the Olympics. What more of a justification does is required to afford this champion the authorities backing?
Finally, this young blossoming victor thanked his parents and his entire family for being with him throughout his career. His heartfelt gratitude was lent to his coach Chaminda Perera for his guidance, which has helped him nurture his talents and bring pride to the motherland.
Sri Lanka owns the fastest in South Asia. Will we own the fastest in the world someday? ThePapare.com wishes Himasha all the very best.
