Deshabandu Deshabandu ( si, දේශබන්දු, translit=dēśabandu; ta, தேசபந்து, translit=Tēcapantu, translation=Patriot) is the third highest Sri Lankan honours system, national honour awarded in Sri Lanka. It is awarded "for me ...

National Honours Presidential Secretariate
/ref> Sriyantha Dissanayake (also known as Sriyantha Subashan Abeysekara Dissanayake) is a

Sri Lanka Sri Lanka (, ; si, ශ්‍රී ලංකා, Śrī Laṅkā, translit-std=ISO (); ta, இலங்கை, Ilaṅkai, translit-std=ISO ()), formerly known as Ceylon and officially the Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka, is an ...

sprint Sprint may refer to: Aerospace *Spring WS202 Sprint, a Canadian aircraft design *Sprint (missile), an anti-ballistic missile Automotive and motorcycle *Alfa Romeo Sprint, automobile produced by Alfa Romeo between 1976 and 1989 *Chevrolet Sprint, ...

athlete An athlete (also sportsman or sportswoman) is a person who competes in one or more sports that involve physical strength, speed, or endurance. Athletes may be professionals or amateurs. Most professional athletes have particularly well-devel ...

specializing in the

100 100 or one hundred (Roman numeral: C) is the natural number following 99 and preceding 101. In medieval contexts, it may be described as the short hundred or five score in order to differentiate the English and Germanic use of "hundred" to de ...

and

200 metres The 200 metres, or 200-meter dash, is a sprint running event. On an outdoor 400 metre racetrack, the race begins on the curve and ends on the home straight, so a combination of techniques is needed to successfully run the race. A slightl ...

Early life and education

Sriyantha was a champion athlete during his school days at

Nalanda College Colombo ''Āpadāna Sobhinī Panñā'' , motto_translation = Character Illumines Wisdom , established = , founder = Patrick de Silva Kularatne , type = National , grades = 1 ...

in the late 1980s. He became national champion at the age of eighteen and went on to win this honour 6 more times.

Career

Sriyantha Dissanayake won a silver and a bronze medal in the

1990 Asian Games The 1990 Asian Games also known as the XI Asiad and the 11th Asian Games ( zh, c=第十一届亚洲运动会, p=Dì shíyī jiè yàzhōu yùndònghuì), were held from September 22 to October 7, 1990, in Beijing, China. This was the first Asian Ga ...

in Beijing and brought pride to Sri Lanka. In the

1991 South Asian Games The 1991 South Asian Games (or 5th SAF Games) were held in Colombo, Sri Lanka from 22 December to 31 December 1991.National Sports Council, Nepa"South Asian Games". Retrieved on 16 February 2011 Sports * Athletics * Basketball * Boxing * As ...

held in Colombo he won gold medals in both the 100 metre and 200 metre events. In addition, he gained two more gold medals and a silver in the

1993 South Asian Games The 1993 South Asian Games, officially the 6th South Asian Games, took place from December 20 to December 27, 1993, in Dhaka, Bangladesh Bangladesh (}, ), officially the People's Republic of Bangladesh, is a country in South Asia. It is ...

in Dhaka. Sriyantha also represented Sri Lanka in athletics at the

1992 Summer Olympics The 1992 Summer Olympics ( es, Juegos Olímpicos de Verano de 1992, ca, Jocs Olímpics d'estiu de 1992), officially known as the Games of the XXV Olympiad ( es, Juegos de la XXV Olimpiada, ca, Jocs de la XXV Olimpíada) and commonly known as ...

held in

Barcelona Barcelona ( , , ) is a city on the coast of northeastern Spain. It is the capital and largest city of the autonomous community of Catalonia, as well as the second most populous municipality of Spain. With a population of 1.6 million within ci ...

Spain , image_flag = Bandera de España.svg , image_coat = Escudo de España (mazonado).svg , national_motto = ''Plus ultra'' (Latin)(English: "Further Beyond") , national_anthem = (English: "Royal March") , i ...

. He is arguably the best male sprinter to come from his island being the only Sri Lankan athlete to have won a 100-metre medal in the Asian games.

Honors

Sriyantha Dissanayake is Sri Lanka's first ever recipient of

Duncan White Major Deshamanya Duncan M. White MBE, ED (1 March 1918 – 3 July 1998) was a Sri Lankan sportsman. He was the first Ceylonese athlete to win an Olympic medal, winning silver in the 400-metre hurdles at the 1948 Summer Olympics in London, Engl ...

award on 1 March 1991 presented by Duncan White himself. In 1992, he was awarded the title of

for services to his country by the late president R. Premadase.

References

* * *

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Dissanayake, Sriyantha 1969 births Living people Sri Lankan male sprinters Sri Lankan Buddhists Alumni of Nalanda College, Colombo Olympic athletes for Sri Lanka Asian Games medalists in athletics (track and field) Athletes (track and field) at the 1992 Summer Olympics Athletes (track and field) at the 1990 Asian Games Deshabandu Asian Games silver medalists for Sri Lanka Asian Games bronze medalists for Sri Lanka Medalists at the 1990 Asian Games South Asian Games gold medalists for Sri Lanka South Asian Games silver medalists for Sri Lanka South Asian Games medalists in athletics Sportspeople from Colombo