Smallest Olympic team in 40 years

Sri Lanka is poised to send its smallest Olympic team in four decades to the Paris Olympic Games 2024. Currently, only five athletes have secured their tickets. Among them are two track and field athletes: Tharushi Karunarathne and Dilhani Lekamge who secured their tickets achieving qualification through World Ranking.

Additionally, Shuttler Viren Nettasinghe has also sealed Olympic qualification through World Ranking.

Meanwhile, swimmers Kyle Abeysinghe and Ganga Seneviratne have secured their spots via the universality placing, commonly known as a wild card. This opportunity is offered to top-ranked athletes from countries without qualified representatives in a particular sport.

Sri Lanka’s Olympic history has seen ups and downs. In 1984, during the Los Angeles Olympics, the country sent only four athletes, which remains the lowest number in the last 40 years. The lowest-ever participation was in 1956 (Melbourne) and 1968 (Mexico City), where only three athletes represented Sri Lanka. However, apart from 1984, the country consistently fielded four athletes each in 1972 and 1980.

The pinnacle for Sri Lanka was the 2000 Sydney Olympics, where they sent 18 athletes. Notably, it was the only time two Sri Lankan relay teams qualified: the Men’s 4x400m team and the Women’s 4x100m relay team. Susanthika Jayasinghe’s 200m Silver Medal during those games remains the second Olympic Medal for Sri Lanka, following Duncan White’s Silver in 1948.

Qualifying for the Olympics has become increasingly challenging due to stricter standards. The International Olympic Committee (IOC) has also reduced the number of wild cards.

Teenager Karunarathne (19), the Asian Games and Asian Championship 800m Gold Medallist, achieved the qualification by World Ranking finishing 45th where 48 is selected. Lekamge (36), Silver Medallist at the Asian Games and Bronze Medallist at the Asian Championship, placed 26th in the Javelin Throw list where 32 were selected. Nettasinghe is currently ranked 75th in the Men’s Singles ranking and was ranked 32nd in the Road to Paris list by the cutoff date.

400m Runner Aruna Darshana is ranked 51st where only 48 is selected. World Athletics will update the final qualification list after the 4th considering withdrawals and Darshana will be praying there will be three withdrawals.

This is the first time since 2008 that a Sri Lankan male track and field athlete has failed to qualify directly for the Olympics. No male track and field athlete participated in the event during that year.

Additionally, this marks the second Olympian from the Abeysinghe family. Trained by their father, Manoj Abeysinghe, all four brothers — Andrew, Matthew, Dillion, and Kyle have excelled in swimming. Matthew was the first Sri Lankan swimmer to qualify through world rankings, representing the country at both the 2016 and 2020 Olympics. Kyle, the youngest of the four, took a break from swimming in 2018 due to medical reasons. However, he made a strong comeback in 2023, achieving a higher ranking and securing his spot in the Olympics.

The Paris Olympic Games will be held from 26 July to 11 August.