The new Commander of the Army, Lieutenant General Mahesh Senanayake and high-ranking officials met with the Hon. Minister of Sports Dayasiri Jayasekara yesterday (08th) at the Ministry of Sports.
Lt. Gen. Mahesh Senanayake re affirmed the support towards the development work carried out by the Ministry of Sports. There was a discussion on handing over the maintenance and the development work of the Diyagama Mahinda Rajapakse Stadium to Sri Lanka Army in order to maintain the stadium at a high standard under the most cost-effective methods. There was also a call to involve the Sri Lanka Army engineering regiment expertise for the ongoing construction work of the Kilinochchi sport complex with the Kilinochchi security command taking over the maintenance and repair work of the facility.
House of first Sri Lankan Olympic Medalists to be renovated
First Sri Lankan to win an Olympic Medal, Major Duncan White, who won silver in 400m Hurdles at the 1948 Summer Olympics in London is regarded as one of the greatest track athletes to have graced the island shores. On 01st of March 2018 the 100th birth anniversary of this legendary runner will be celebrated and Lt. Gen. Mahesh Senanayake agreed to renovate the late athlete’s residence in Kandy as a show of gratitude to the yeoman service by the first Olympic medalist of the country.
Sri Lanka Army has been one of the main supporters and promoters of sports in the country with many athletes in the national set up being absorbed into different ranks of the force. At the discussion with Minster Jayasekara , Lt. Gen. Senanayake also promised to consider releasing the army athletes who are part of national squads for full time training , recruiting talented athletes who enter the national squads, providing accessibility to athletes in the national pools to utilize the facilities and infrastructure of the army, providing assistance for spreading sports and physical wellness programs island wide and to support the sports ministry to conduct the futuristic “Kreeda Shakthi” program in divisional secretariats island wide.
 at the Ministry of Sports.){kind=link}