Longest living Sri Lanka athlete celebrates 101 birthday

By Susil Premalal

Piyarathna Weerasinghe, who captained Sri Lanka’s first national volleyball team in 1954, celebrated his 101st birthday yesterday. 

Weerasinghe also holds the distinction of being the longest-living athlete to have represented the nation across all sports.

In 1954, during the inaugural Indo-Lanka Test volleyball series against the visiting Indian Madras team, Weerasingha led the Sri Lankan team and became the first to earn national colours in volleyball.

Born on December 10, 1924, in Mirigama, Weerasinghe received his early education at the local government English school in Pattalagedara and his passion for volleyball began during his school days and Mirigama Central College. 

With a remarkable span of 108 years of Sri Lankan volleyball history, Weerasinghe’s contributions remain a lasting legacy in the country’s sporting chronicles.