Japanese Foreign Minister’s Commendations 2019 awarded to SLABSA National Coordinator Manoj Fernando

The national team

The Japanese Foreign Minister’s Commendations 2019 were awarded to Sri Lanka Baseball/Softball Association (SLABSA) National Coordinator Kachchakaduge Manoj Kaushalya Fernando by Ambassador of Japan to Sri Lanka Akira Sugiyama at a special ceremony held on 9 October at the Ambassador’s Official Residence in Colombo. 

The Japanese Foreign Minister’s Commendations 2019 being awarded to Sri Lanka Baseball/Softball Association (SLABSA) National Coordinator Kachchakaduge Manoj Kaushalya Fernando by Ambassador of Japan to Sri Lanka Akira Sugiyama

As a key person in SLABSA, Fernando has actively engaged in promoting baseball in Sri Lanka over the last 35 years – most notably by shaping the national team to excel in the international tournaments, as was seen at the West Asia Baseball Cup 2019, which they won, held at the Japan-Sri Lanka Friendship Baseball Ground in Diyagama on 20 July. 

This was the team’s second victory at the West Asia Baseball Cup. In the process, Fernando worked closely with the Japanese baseball trainers dispatched in Sri Lanka as Japan Overseas Cooperation Volunteers (JOCVs) since 2002, through which he contributed greatly to strengthening the friendship between Sri Lanka and Japan.   

On the same occasion, Ambassador Sugiyama stirred the spirits of the members of the national team by sending words of cheers and encouragement to those who are participating in the 29th BFA Asian Baseball Championship, the preliminaries for the Tokyo Olympic Paralympic Games, to be held from 14-20 October in Taiwan.

The Foreign Minister’s Commendations are awarded to individuals and groups for their outstanding achievements in the international field to acknowledge their contribution to the promotion of friendship between Japan and foreign countries.