Seeing children from North and East a triumph - President

For several decades, only one section of this country could participate in this event. Many youths in the Northern and Eastern regions could not attend it. But today, seeing these children from the North and the East is a triumph in itself, said President Mahinda Rajapaksa yesterday.

“We all know that our country is in progress in many areas. Having defeated the worst terrorism in the world, and thereby winning national freedom, we are taking measures to strengthen our country economically. In so doing, we need to create a conducive atmosphere to achieve great victories in sports,” President Rajapaksa said addressing the 37th National Sports Festival at the Mahinda Rajapaksa International Sports Complex in Diyagama, Homagama.

The President further said that the Mahinda Chinthana manifesto identifies psychological development and cooperation as interconnected with sports. “In it, we said, development of sports is an investment on indispensable for the future existence of society. Therefore, we promised to strengthen the field of sports to enable it to contribute to personal development through sports,” he noted.

He elaborated on the measures taken by the Government for the progress of sports in the country through many massive projects. “Skilled sportsmen in our villages and country need to be identified. I trust that sports clubs should take steps to bring them forward and protect their talents”, he said.

 “We have proved to the world that there is nothing impossible for us. We must be proud of our motherland. We have been able to bring out victories of peace, freedom, and development to the motherland. You should bring victories to the motherland through sports. For that, the National Sports Festival is a great opportunity,” he added.