Sri Lankan athlete Lahiru Achintha, who won a silver medal in the 1,500m event at the 4th Youth Olympic Games held in Dakar, Senegal, arrived in the island this morning (14).
The achievement marks Sri Lanka’s first-ever silver medal in the history of the Youth Olympic Games.
Previously, at the 3rd Youth Olympic Games held in Buenos Aires, Argentina, in 2018, Sri Lankan athlete Wasanthi Parami Maristella won a bronze medal in the 3,000m event.
Achintha had been away from athletics after winning a gold medal at the Asian Youth Games held in Bahrain. However, following his admission to Ratnapura Kumara Vidyalaya, the school took steps to bring him back to competitive athletics within a short period.
The 4th edition of the Youth Olympic Games, which had been postponed from 2022 to 2026 due to the COVID-19 pandemic, was held from October 31 to November 13.
A total of 2,655 athletes from 205 countries and refugee teams competed in 25 sports at the event.
Achintha was warmly welcomed at Bandaranaike International Airport by his mother and other family members, the Principal and teachers of Ratnapura Kumara Vidyalaya, current and former students, representatives of the National Olympic Committee and senior officials of the Ministry of Sports.
