Nine Gateway Griffins receive Golden Eagle Awards for representing the country
Four hundred and Seventy-Five girls and boys received merit, colors and special awards for their outstanding achievements in the field of sports at the annual Colors Nite of the Gateway Group of Schools held at the Auditorium of the Kotelawala Defence University. Consequent to the introduction of the School’s mascot in 2018, students representing Gateway in sports are referred to as ‘Gateway Griffins’.
The event held after a lapse of two years due to the Covid19 pandemic, saw students of Gateway Colleges in Colombo, Kandy, Negombo, Dehiwala and Ratmalana receive awards for Athletics, Badminton, Basketball, Cricket, Football, Karate, Netball, Rowing, Swimming, Tennis, Squash, Table Tennis, Motor Racing and Kayaking.
Basketballers Iflal Iqbal who represented Sri Lanka at the FIBA Under 16 South Asian Basketball Championship 2019 winning a silver medal and Disura Dissanayake who represented Sri Lanka at the FIBA Under 18 3×3 Asian Basketball Championship 2019; Netballers Aneesha Perera and Vishmika Rathnayake who won silver medals by representing Sri Lanka at the Asian Youth Netball Championship 2019; Swimmers Amrith Perera and Alvin Arulmaran who represented Sri Lanka at the Asian Age Group Swimming Championship 2019; Footballer Maleeka Amith who represented the country at the Under 19 Women’s South Asian Football Championship 2021 as Vice Captain of the Sri Lanka team; Kulisa Nanayakkara who represented Sri Lanka at the Western Asian Youth & Junior Rapid & Blitz Chess Championship 2019; and double silver medalist Jason Jayawardena who represented Sri Lanka at the Asian Youth Para Games 2021 shared the Golden Eagle award, the highest award for sports stars at Gateway. Ms. Kasthuri Chellaraja Wilson, the former Sri Lanka International in Netball & Basketball and the Group Chief Executive Officer of Hemas Holdings Plc. was the Chief Guest. The Guests of Honour included Sri Lanka’s one and only Paralympic Gold medalist and record holder, Mr.Dinesh Priyantha Herath; and Sri Lankan representatives in Karate, Squash, Basketball, Chess, Netball, Football and Swimming, Mr. Yasinda Samaranayake, Mr. Ilham Asmone, Mrs. Jayaliya Kumari, Ms. Yasodha Methmali, Mrs. Chathurangi Jayasooriya, Mr. Sumith Walpola and Ms. Reshika Udugampola, respectively.