Former top sports promoter Sunil Jayaweera felicitated for “lifetime service” 

Retired lecturers of the Faculty of Physical Education, DS Suriyakumara and Champa Gunawardhana, present a special memento to Sunil Jayaweera (right) during the felicitation ceremony

By Susil Premalal

A felicitation ceremony was held recently in Kadawatha to honour Sunil Jayaweera the former Deputy Director General of Sports of the Ministry of Education, for over six decades of dedicated service in the field of sports in Sri Lanka. 

The event, organised by the Ministry of Education together with lecturers of the Faculty of Physical Education, recognised Jayaweera’s exceptional contribution as one of the most respected administrators in the country’s sports management sector.

The ceremony was attended by a large gathering of distinguished guests representing various sectors of Sri Lankan sports, who paid tribute to Jayaweera’s long-standing commitment to national athletics development. 

Having served as an athlete, athletics coach, sports administrator, and ultimately as the highest-ranking official overseeing school sports, Jayawaera remains the only individual to have held all these positions within the Ministry of Education.

A pioneer of the National School Sports concept introduced in 1984, Jayaweera played a key administrative role in advancing athletics in Sri Lanka from the 1991 South Asian Games in Colombo through to the 2000 Sydney Olympic Games, during which Susanthika Jayasinghe famously won the silver medal in the women’s 200 metres. 

As a former President of Sri Lanka Athletics (SLA), Jayaweera was instrumental in securing the hosting rights of the 2002 Asian Senior Athletics Championship and the 2012 Asian Junior Athletics Championship for Sri Lanka.

He is also recognised for producing numerous national and international-level athletes through his career as a track and field coach, and for his outstanding capability in organising major sports events. Notably, his organisational skills led to his appointment as the Chief Organiser of the 1991 South Asian Games held in Colombo, a task bestowed on him by the late President Ranasinghe Premadasa.