Milka Gehani’s scholarship to train in Japan extended | Daily News

Milka Gehani’s scholarship to train in Japan extended

Milka Gehani de Silva in action
Milka Gehani de Silva in action

Sri Lanka's sole gymnast for the Olympic Games 2020, Milka Gehani de Siva has received another two-year extension for her sports scholarship to train in Japan.

Secretary General of the National Olympic Committee of Sri Lanka (NOCSL), Maxwell de Silva said they have secured another two-year term for De Silva to continue her training in Japan.

He said De Silva’s current two-year sports scholarship in Japan will end after the 2020 Olympics next month and they have been able to get another two-year scholarship.

NOCSL Secretary General said they widely believe the gymnast as a possible medal prospect at next year’s Asian Games and that the extension of her sports scholarship is a big boost to her medal hopes.

She will be competing for three years of training in Japan when the 19th Asian Games will be held in Hangzhou, Zhejiang, China from September 10 to 25, 2022.

Hangzhou will be the third Chinese city to host the Asian Games, after Beijing in 1990 and Guangzhou in 2010.

De Silva, who will represent Sri Lanka at the forthcoming Olympic Games in Women’s artistic gymnastics, has also been named as the Women’s overall captain.

She is scheduled to check in at the Olympic Village tomorrow (18). She will be joined by her local coach Ranjana Tharanga and gymnastic manager Kapila Jeevantha Rupasinghe.

Beside her, the other eight Sri Lankans to be seen in action during Tokyo 2020 Olympics are Chamara Nuwan Dharmawardena (judo Men’s 73kg), Niluka Karunaratne (badminton Men’s singles), Matthew Abeysinghe (swimming Men’s 100m freestyle), Tehani Egodawela (shooting - Women’s 10m air rifle), Aniqah Gaffoor (swimming Women’s 100m butterfly stroke), Nimali Liyanarachchi (athletics Women’s 800m), Yupun Abeykoon (athletics Men’s 100m) and Mathilda Karlsson (equestrian Women’s jumping individual).

The Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games will officially run from July 23 until August 8, 2021. Though the Opening Ceremony is due to take place on July 23, there are a few events kicking off a few days prior, namely baseball, softball and football, all starting on July 21.

Hosting the Olympics is Tokyo, Japan, but a number of sports and events will take place at venues outside the Japanese capital.

The competition is due to take place across 41 different venues, including the Japan National Stadium, Tokyo Stadium and the Yokohama Stadium.

There are five new sports coming to Tokyo 2020. Baseball-softball is among the 'new' sports this summer, but the two disciplines were previously separate sports that competed at the Olympic Games up until Beijing 2008.

For four of the newbies, however, this will be their Olympic debut.

Karate , surfing , sport climbing and skateboarding have all been selected to showcase their sport at Tokyo 2020 for the first time in Games history.

As well as new sports, you can expect to see new disciplines in existing sports, including 3x3 basketball, freestyle BMX , and mixed gender events in various sports such as swimming, athletics, triathlon, judo, and archery. 15 new gold medals will be awarded at the Olympics, for 3x3 basketball, BMX freestyle, and mixed-gender events, boosting equality.

On July 21 and 22, softball and football teams begin their road to gold. In softball, Japan will start their Olympic title defence against Australia at the Fukushima Azuma Baseball Stadium from 9.00 a.m. JST (Japan Standard Time).

Fans can also follow along as Italy takes on the USA from 12.00 p.m. JST and Olympic debutants Mexico face Canada from 3.00 p.m. JST.

If football is what you're looking for, then you can see Women's football from July 21 throughout the late afternoon and evening with Great Britain lining up against Chile from 4.30 p.m. JST.

Hosts Japan then kick-off their campaign against Canada at 7.30 p.m. JST. Men's football will begin the following day, July 22, with group games set to be played.

Japan will take on South Africa in their opening game from 8.00 p.m. JST with a blockbuster tie between Brazil and Germany kicking off just 30 minutes later at 8.30 p.m. JST.

Archery begins on the morning of July 23, before the Opening Ceremony later that evening, with the ranking rounds.

The rest of the action across all sports will unfold after the Ceremony, which takes place at 8.00 p.m. JST on July 23, with the first medal event coming in the Women's 10m air rifle in shooting.


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