The Embassy of Sri Lanka in France hosted a welcome at the embassy premises in Paris in honor of the Sri Lankan team that participated in the Paris 2024 Paralympic Games.
The reception was joined by 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 (NPC) of Sri Lanka led by the Chef de Mission Col. (Retd) Deepal Herath and National Sports Council member Maj. Gen. (Retd) Rajitha Ampemohotti also joined the event.
The Ambassador in her welcome notes 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 previous Paralympic Games, i.e. London (2012), Rio (2016), and Tokyo (2020).
The reception also felicitated the outstanding performance of Paralympian 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 m.
The equal attention attached to the Olympic and Paralympic Games internationally, which needs to be further emulated, and action being taken to improve gender parity in the Games was also highlighted.
Addressing the reception, Col. Herath expressed his deep gratitude and that of the NPC 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 gratitude of their dedication and outstanding achievements.
A special token of appreciation was presented to Silver medallist Kodithuwakku in appreciation of his exceptional performance.
The welcome also underscored the importance of continued action in mainstreaming and extending equal recognition to para-sports, and making them more inclusive.
Sinhala 
English