Sri Lanka’s most versatile swimmer Matthew Abeysinghe was on Friday mobbed by his autograph seeking fans when he returned to the country after bagging yet another record haul of seven gold medals at the South Asian Games in Nepal this week.
He obliged his adoring fans at the Glory Swim Shop at the Galle Face One complex but was very modest in acknowledging his feat of winning seven gold medals for a second time in succession at the South Asian Games.
Before the Nepal Games, Abeysinghe had already gone past Julian Bolling’s record of five gold medals won at the same event in Colombo in 1991.
This was something that most swimming fans failed to remember.
“I actually broke (Julian Bolling’s) the record the last time and I have now equalled my own record. I always try to do the best for Sri Lanka and it is a good feeling and an honour to do that,” said Abeysinghe in an interview with the Sunday Observer.
“My aim was to win as many gold medals for Sri Lanka doing the best I can. I didn’t care about individual accolades or anything like that as it is always an honour to represent Sri Lanka,” added Abeysinghe.
He hails from an illustrious family where his elder brother Andrew set the course as a top notch swimmer. He also has two younger brothers, Kyle and Dillon who are promising swimmers all of whom came under the watchful eyes of their enterprising father Manoj Abeysinghe who swam for St. Joseph’s College. “I train for about 24 hours a week under coaches at the Ohio University in the USA and I eat anything as much as I can,” said a humble Matthew Abeysinghe who is not on any special diet but prefers pasta and rice.
Manoj Abeysinghe also took the time off a busy schedule to spend time with the colourful Matthew who will be travelling to the USA to further his training at the Ohio University while focusing on a slot at next year’s Olympic Games in Tokyo, Japan.
“Matthew is on a swimming scholarship at the Ohio University since 2017. He undergoes training camps there. He was studying at the Asian International School in Colombo and after the Olympics in 2016 he obtained the scholarship in the USA in 2017,” said Manoj Abeysinghe.
His elder son Andrew also swam for Sri Lanka at the South Asian Games previously but only in two events that brought him gold in both.