Sri Lanka will be sending an eight-member contingent of athletes and their coaches, managers, masseurs and officials making it a maximum of 15 to Tokyo for the 2020 Olympics.
Topping the list will be equestrian rider Matilda Karlsson and gymnast Milka de Silva who for the first time in the history of Sri Lanka will be a participant in such a sport at the Olympics.
Milka topped the Asian Continental Quota ahead of India’s Pranati Nayak.
A student at Piliyandala Somaweera Chandrasiri Vidyalaya, Milka and shifted to Methodist College Colombo-3 in the latter stages and then received training in Japan under an IOC/Olympic Solidarity (OS) /NOC Scholarship program.
There as a result of the superior standards Milka managed to achieve this feat.
She has represented Sri Lanka at several international competitions and so far proved she is the best in the business in local circles.
She was Sri Lanka’s Junior National Champion from 2011 (when she was only 8-years-old) to 2014, then finished sixth in the Junior Commonwealth Games in 2016 and was National Champion in 2017 and 2018. She then finished within the top eight at the Asian Championship in Indonesia in 2018, becoming the first Sri Lankan to achieve the feat.
She also represented Sri Lanka at the Youth Olympic Games 2018.
Another slot has been taken by shooter Tehani Egodawela who is attached to the Navy and a former student at Good Shepherd Convent in Wattala.
Most likely there would be two slots allocated for swimming too. It would go one male swimmer and one female swimmer. The most likely to fill this slot would be Matthew Abeysinghe Sri Lanka’s most decorated swimmer and Aniquh Gaffoor -- the female swimmer. So far no one has qualified for Tokyo and in any case, it is most likely the two slots will be allocated to to Sri Lanka by the International Olympic Committee.
There is also the possibility that Sri Lanka can secure slots in wrestling badminton or weightlifting.