Sumanthiran Navaratnam (born 21 May 1925), also known as Sumana Navaratnam
or Summa Navaratnam, is a Sri Lankan former
track and field athlete
Track and field is a sport that includes Competition#Sports, athletic contests based on running, jumping, and throwing skills. The name is derived from where the sport takes place, a running track and a grass field for the throwing and some of ...
,
Sri Lankan rugby union player, coach and business executive. He is regarded as one of the finest sportspeople from Sri Lanka. He is currently the oldest living Sri Lankan athlete at the age of 96 as of 2021.
Personal life
Navaratnam was born on 21 May 1925 in
Araly
Araly ( ta, அராலி) is a town in Northern Jaffna District, Sri Lanka. It is located 8.6 km (5.34 mi) North West from the city of Jaffna.
Schools
Temples
* Araly Avarampitti Sri Muththumari Amman Kovil
* Kalavathurai Vair ...
,
Vaddukoddai
Vaddukoddai (also spelt Vattukkottai, Vatukotai, Vattukotai) ( ta, வட்டுக்கோட்டை, si, වඩුකෝඩයි) is small but important town in the minority group, minority Sri Lankan Tamils, Sri Lankan Tamil dominated J ...
,
Jaffna
Jaffna (, ) is the capital city of the Northern Province of Sri Lanka. It is the administrative headquarters of the Jaffna District located on a peninsula of the same name. With a population of 88,138 in 2012, Jaffna is Sri Lanka's 12th most ...
,
Northern Province. He was born as the fifth child in his family. His father SS Navaratnam was a civil servant.
Navaratnam married Sri Lankan-born British-American best-selling author
Rosemary Jansz and the couple had two daughters, Rosanne and Sharon. The couple later divorced and Rosemary moved to
London
London is the capital and largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary down to the North Sea, and has been a majo ...
with her daughters in 1960. He was later married to Romaine and has two children.
Career
Navaratnam established himself as a reputed prominent distinguished sportsman at the
Royal College
A royal college in some Commonwealth countries is technically a college which has received royal patronage and permission to use the prefix ''royal''. Permission is usually granted through a royal charter. The charter normally confers a constituti ...
in
Colombo
Colombo ( ; si, කොළඹ, translit=Koḷam̆ba, ; ta, கொழும்பு, translit=Koḻumpu, ) is the executive and judicial capital and largest city of Sri Lanka by population. According to the Brookings Institution, Colombo me ...
where he pursued his primary and secondary education.
He rose to limelight as a school athlete at Royal College at the age of fifteen as he became the youngest Royalist to be awarded the Royal College athletics colours. He also went onto captain the Royal College rugby and athletics teams.
He was chosen to represent Ceylon at the dual meet against India in 1945 (Indo-Ceylon Dual Athletic Meet) where he competed in the men's 4×100 yards relay event alongside
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, Eng ...
,
R. E. Kitto and
Basil Henricus.
He was then overlooked from the Sri Lankan contingent which participated at the
1948 Summer Olympics
The 1948 Summer Olympics (officially the Games of the XIV Olympiad and also known as London 1948) were an international multi-sport event held from 29 July to 14 August 1948 in London, England, United Kingdom. Following a twelve-year hiatus ca ...
and in
1952 Summer Olympics
The 1952 Summer Olympics ( fi, Kesäolympialaiset 1952; sv, Olympiska sommarspelen 1952), officially known as the Games of the XV Olympiad ( fi, XV olympiadin kisat; sv, Den XV olympiadens spel) and commonly known as Helsinki 1952 ( sv, Helsin ...
due to
nepotism
Nepotism is an advantage, privilege, or position that is granted to relatives and friends in an occupation or field. These fields may include but are not limited to, business, politics, academia, entertainment, sports, fitness, religion, an ...
with the selection process at that time.
Navaratnam represented
Ceylon
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 ...
at the
1950 British Empire Games
The 1950 British Empire Games was the fourth staging of what is now called the Commonwealth Games. It was held in Auckland, New Zealand between 4 and 11 February 1950, after a 12-year gap from the third edition of the games. The main venue was ...
which was held in
Auckland
Auckland (pronounced ) ( mi, Tāmaki Makaurau) is a large metropolitan city in the North Island of New Zealand. The List of New Zealand urban areas by population, most populous urban area in the country and the List of cities in Oceania by po ...
,
New Zealand
New Zealand ( mi, Aotearoa ) is an island country in the southwestern Pacific Ocean. It consists of two main landmasses—the North Island () and the South Island ()—and over 700 smaller islands. It is the sixth-largest island count ...
and competed in the
men's 100 yards, men's 220 yards and in men's events.
He finished at fifth position in the
men's heats 100 yards competition and he couldn't progress to semifinal. He was also slated to compete in the
men's 200 yards event but he didn't start and was disqualified. He also teamed up with fellow prominent track and field athletes
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, Eng ...
,
John de Saram and
Oscar Wijesinghe
Oscar, OSCAR, or The Oscar may refer to:
People
* Oscar (given name), an Irish- and English-language name also used in other languages; the article includes the names Oskar, Oskari, Oszkár, Óscar, and other forms.
* Oscar (Irish mythology) ...
in the
men's 4 × 110 yards event where Sri Lanka finished at fourth position during the 1950 British Empire Games.
He was fondly called as "the fastest man in Asia" after clocking at record 10.04 seconds at the India States Olympic Meet which was held in Madras in 1953. It was also regarded as the fastest timing recorded on a grass track in Asian soil. He began his athletics coaching career with Royal College in 1953. He retired from athletics in 1955 and pursued his career as a professional rugby player.
Navaratnam was also part of the Ceylon rugby team which played in an unofficial match against the touring
British Lions in
1950 where the British Lions defeated Sri Lanka 44-6. He was just one of three local native Sri Lankans along with
Leslie Ephraims and
Clair Roeloffsz to have been selected to play for the Ceylonese rugby team which was otherwise dubbed as an "All-white" Sri Lankan team. He also captained the
Ceylonese Rugby & Football Club
Ceylonese Rugby & Football Club, also known as CR & FC, is a Division-A rugby union team based in Colombo, Sri Lanka which plays in the Dialog Rugby League. Established in 1922, the club has won the Clifford Cup Knockout Tournament fifteen times ...
and under his captaincy CR & FC won the
Clifford Cup
The Clifford Cup is the most prestigious club rugby knockout tournament in Sri Lanka, and arguably the oldest rugby tournament in Asia. The Clifford Cup commenced in 1911 and has been played continuously since 1950, having completed 79 seasons. ...
in 1954.
Navaratnam was elected as the President of the Ceylon Rugby Football Union in 1972 and was also re-elected as the President of the
Sri Lanka Rugby Football Union in 1974.
He also joined the Royal (Ceylon) Air Force. He also later went onto become rugby coach of Royal College, Colombo Rugby Football Union and the national team. He also started the Summa Navaratnam Junior Rugby Academy and began coaching to young kids.
In addition, Navaratnam pursued his mercantile career as a Junior Trading Executive of Dodwell & Company in Colombo. After the closure of Dodwell's company, he joined the Stores & Sales Department of Colombo Commercial Company. On his return to Sri Lanka in around 1989, he became general manager of Consolexpo corporation where he served in the relevant position for a period of three years. He became general manager at the Ceylon and Foreign Trades PLC in 1993 and served in the position for about 16 years before his retirement in 2009. He was also appointed on the board of Ceylon and Foreign Trades and its subsidiaries.
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Navaratnam, Summa
1925 births
Living people
Alumni of Royal College, Colombo
Athletes (track and field) at the 1950 British Empire Games
Commonwealth Games competitors for Sri Lanka
People from Jaffna District
Sri Lankan male sprinters
Sri Lankan rugby union players
Sri Lankan Tamil businesspeople
Sri Lankan Tamil sportspeople