Sri Lanka has already finalized a 42-member group for the forthcoming 3rd Lusofonia Games which will be held in Goa India from January 18 to 29 while another set of athletes will be added to the tour party along with a football team.
Lusofonia Games attracted the attention of the public lately as the sports ministry officials and the National Olympic Committee engaged in a tug of war regarding the number of athletes to be sent. However, it has been decided to send more athletes as Sri Lanka looks to win the fifth gold medal in the meet, after pocketing four gold medals in the previous two editions.
Sri Lanka has won four gold, two silver and three bronze medals where all four golds have come through athletics.
Sri Lanka also finished third in the both editions of the games, winning six medals in 2006, and five in 2009.
It was Brazil and Portugal who finished first and second in 2006.
In the next edition in 2009 Portugal overtook Brazil.
Sri Lanka has won a total of 10 medals in athletics at the games over two editions (4 golds, 2 silver and 4 bronze)
Sri Lanka sprinting queen Susanthika Jayasinghe won both the 100m and 200m gold medals in 2006 where 1500m champion Chaminda Wijekoon won the other two gold medals in 2006 and 2009 in the same 1500m event.
In the last edition of the games held in Portugal in 2009 Chandrika Subashini was able to win a bronze medal in the 400m. She is not competing this year due to her commitment towards the forthcoming Asian and Commonwealth Games.
Sri Lanka men’s 100m relay team won a silver medal last year after finishing third after the original winner Brazil was disqualified. Also the men’s 400m relay team won a bronze medal in 2009.
This year too Sri Lanka athletics will share the burden with 18 participants for the championship even though most of top athletes aren’t participating, targeting the Asian and Commonwealth Games.
In the first edition of the game held in Macau in 2006 Rohitha Pushpakumara was able to win a silver medal in the 400m while men’s 4 x400m team too won a silver medal. Sampath Weerasinghe won a bronze medal in the triple jump.
Apart from athletics country’s only other medal at the games came from Taekwondo where Gayan Galuge won a bronze medal in the men’s over 80kg event back in 2009.
The Lusofonia Games is a multinational multi-sport event organized by the Association of the Portuguese Speaking Olympic Committees(ACOLOP), which involves athletes coming from Lusophone (Portuguese-speaking) countries, namely those belonging to the CPLP (Community of Portuguese Language Countries), but also others where there are significant Portuguese communities or that have a common past with Portugal.
Participating countries are founding members: Angola, Brazil, Cape Verde, East Timor, Guinea-Bissau, Macau (Chinese SAR), Mozambique, Portugal and São Tomé and Príncipe, and associate members Equatorial Guinea, India and Sri Lanka. In addition, Ghana, Flores (an island of Indonesia), Mauritius and Morocco have also expressed the desire to participate in future events.
This event is similar in concept to the Commonwealth Games.
This is the third edition of the games which will participated by following countries Angola, Brazil, Cape Verde, East Timor, Guinea-Bissau, Macau (Chinese SAR), Mozambique, Portugal and São Tomé and Príncipe, and associate members Equatorial Guinea, Goa (India) and Sri Lanka, with the athletes competing in nine events over 12 days.
