The Embassy of Sri Lanka in France hosted a reception in honour of Team Sri Lanka that participated in the Paris 2024 Paralympic Games, on 04 September at the Embassy premises in Paris.
The reception was attended by the Sri Lankan para-athletes Samitha Dulan Kodithuwakku, Nuwan Indika, Anil Prasanna Jayalath, Palitha Bandara, Pradeep Somasiri, Janani Dananjana, Naveed Rasheen and Suresh Dharmasena. A delegation of senior officials representing the National Paralympic Committee of Sri Lanka led by the Chef de Mission Colonel (Retd) Deepal Herath and Member/ Sports Council Major General (Retd) Rajitha Ampemohotti also attended the event.
The Ambassador in her welcome remarks commended the sterling performance of Team Sri Lanka at the Paris Games while recalling the national team’s admirable medal tally (including gold and bronze medals) at the previous Paralympic Games, i.e. London (2012), Rio (2016) and Tokyo (2020). The reception also felicitated the outstanding performance of Paralympian Samitha Dulan Kodithuwakku, who secured the silver medal in the Men’s Javelin Throw (F44 category) at the Paris Games, setting a new world record with a throw of 67.03 meters. The equal interest attached to the Olympic and the Paralympic Games internationally, which needs to be further emulated, and action being taken to improve gender parity in the Games were also highlighted.
Addressing the reception, Chef de Mission Colonel Deepal Herath expressed his deep appreciation and that of the National Paralympic Committee to the Ambassador and staff for hosting this reception to felicitate the performance of Sri Lanka’s para-athletes. He also detailed the team’s dedication to their four-year plan which culminated in their notable success at the Paris Paralympic Games, living up to their motto: "We came to win, and we won."
The Ambassador and staff presented tokens of appreciation to the para-athletes and officials in recognition of their dedication and outstanding achievements. A special token of appreciation was presented to silver medalist Samitha Dulan Kodithuwakku in appreciation of his exceptional performance.
The reception also underscored the importance of continued action in mainstreaming and extending equal recognition to para-sports, and making them more inclusive.
Embassy of Sri Lanka
Paris
19 September 2024
