Channa Wickremasuriya was a great Rajan
Channa Wickremasuriya , the great Dharmaraja College sportsman of 1970s, passed away on December 31, 2023 after a prolonged illness. He was confined to almost one place during the last few years, I am sure Channa did not enjoy being the great sportsman he was.
He represented college in cricket, football and hockey and he excelled in them all. His batting skills, I was fortunate to watch; his trademark stroke was the hook and had many great scores to his credit in early 1970s when he played with other greats like Mahinda Pethiyagoda. Channa also coached the college hockey team in 1975.
After graduating as an agronomist from the Hardy Institute, Channa joined the Mahaweli Economic Agency, a multidisciplinary organisation dedicated to serving its settlers. Because of his sports background, the late Mahaweli Minister, approached Channa to lead the sports development initiatives, including infrastructure and skills development, in the Mahaweli areas. Channa played a vital role in establishing playgrounds in places, such as Galnewa and organising sports meets to benefit
new settlers
I have vivid memories of his mother coming to Lake View to watch his son play on a Friday evening.
Even from his sick bed Channa was actively following Rajan activities on facebook, which will be missed by us. In true Rajan spirit, his school mates were regular visitors to see him during his sickness and photos were shared on facebook, which I am sure cheered him up.
His son Shamila Wickremasuriya is a member of DAANA. Our thoughts are with the family of this time of grief. May he
be born again as a Rajan in the journey of Samsara.
Anil Ellepola