Mangala Samarakoon
| Personal information | ||||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Nationality | Sri Lankan | |||||||||||||||||
| Born | 26 August 1980 Nuwara Eliya, Madhyama, Central Province, Sri Lanka | |||||||||||||||||
| Education | Madawala Maha Vidyalaya, Uva Paranagama | |||||||||||||||||
| Sport | ||||||||||||||||||
| Country |  Sri Lanka | |||||||||||||||||
| Sport | Shooting | |||||||||||||||||
Medal record
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Samarakoon Mudiyansalage Mangala Samarakoon[1] (born 26 August 1980) is a former Sri Lankan sport shooter.[2][3][4][5] He also served as a non-commission officer for Sri Lanka Army as well staff sergeant of the Sri Lanka Army Service Corps.[6]
Biography
[edit]Mangala was born in Nuwara Eliya in Central Province as the only child in his family. His father was primarily involved in farming as his family's main source of income was based on farming.[7] He was educated at the Madawala Maha Vidyalaya in Uva Paranagama where he also pursued his athletics career.[7]
Career
[edit]After completing his primary and secondary education at the Madawala Maha Vidyalaya, Mangala joined Sri Lanka Army on 18 January 2000 initially to pursue his training in athletics. However, he soon switched to the sport of shooting a year later after being spotted for his talent for shooting during military training. He was also coached by former veteran sport shooter Pushpamali Ramanayake for several years.[1]
After taking the sport of shooting in 2001, he began competing in several international competitions including the South Asian Games, Asian Games, Commonwealth Games and the Olympics.[1] He made his mark in the sport of shooting after claiming a gold medal in the men's 50m rifle prone event during the 2006 South Asian Games.[6][8] He also went onto represent Sri Lanka at the 2006 Asian Games, 2010 Asian Games, 2010 Commonwealth Games, 2012 Summer Olympics, 2014 Commonwealth Games, 2016 South Asian Games, 2016 Summer Olympics and 2019 South Asian Games.[9][10][11]
He competed at the 2012 Summer Olympics representing Sri Lanka in the men's 10 metre air rifle and men's 50 metre rifle prone which was also his maiden Olympic appearance.[12][13][14][15] He failed to advance in both. Samarakoon also represented Sri Lanka at the 2016 Summer Olympics which was held in Rio de Janeiro.[16] During the 2016 Summer Olympics, he blamed the Sri Lanka Shooting Sports Federation for failing to provide him a suitable shooting kit which made his participation quite difficult when he was slotted to compete in the men's 10m air rifle event.[17] He was settled only for 50th position in the men's 10m air rifle event during the Rio Olympics.[18]
References
[edit]- ^ a b c "Lankan lone shooting star in the Olympic sports galaxy". www.sundaytimes.lk. Retrieved 23 June 2021.
- ^ "Mangala Samarakoon". London 2012. The London Organising Committee of the Olympic Games and Paralympic Games Limited. Archived from the original on 24 August 2012. Retrieved 13 September 2012.
- ^ "Mangala SAMARAKOON". Olympics.com. Retrieved 23 June 2021.
- ^ "ISSF - International Shooting Sport Federation - issf-sports.org". www.issf-sports.org. Retrieved 23 June 2021.
- ^ "Mangala Samarakoon Bio, Stats, and Results | Olympics at Sports-Reference.com". 3 December 2016. Archived from the original on 3 December 2016. Retrieved 23 June 2021.
- ^ a b "Olympics Going Army Staff Sergeant Receives Commander's Best Wishes". www.army.lk. Sri Lanka Army. Retrieved 21 August 2022.
- ^ a b "|| Had to undergo many hardships in my life: Mangala". archives.dailynews.lk. Retrieved 23 June 2021.
- ^ "Complacency is not in Samarakoon's vocabulary". Retrieved 23 June 2021 – via PressReader.
- ^ "Mangala Samarakoon | Commonwealth Games Federation". thecgf.com. Retrieved 23 June 2021.
- ^ "Glasgow 2014 - Mangala Samarakoon Profile". results.glasgow2014.com. Retrieved 23 June 2021.
- ^ "South Asian Games in Nepal Six Gold Medals for SL on day-5 - Sports | Daily Mirror". www.dailymirror.lk. Retrieved 23 June 2021.
- ^ "Mangala Samarakoon qualified for 2012 London Olympics". www.adaderana.lk. 29 April 2012. Retrieved 21 August 2022.
- ^ "Meditation and chanting to boost confidence of Olympic athletes". BBC News. 1 August 2012. Retrieved 23 June 2021.
- ^ IOC. "London 2012 10m air rifle 60 shots men Results - Olympic shooting". Olympic Channel. Retrieved 23 June 2021.
- ^ IOC. "London 2012 50m rifle prone 60 shots men Results - Olympic shooting". Olympic Channel. Retrieved 23 June 2021.
- ^ "OMEGA felicitates Sri Lankan Olympic Team as they prepare for Rio 2016 | Daily FT". www.ft.lk. Retrieved 23 June 2021.
- ^ "Shooter Samarakoon blames federation for poor show".
- ^ "Mangala Samarakoon Takes Part In His Second Event Today". asianmirror.lk. Retrieved 23 June 2021.
External links
[edit]- Mangala Samarakoon at ISSF
- Mangala Samarakoon at Olympedia
- Mangala Samarakoon at the Commonwealth Games Federation (archived)
- Sri Lankan male sport shooters
- 1980 births
- Living people
- Olympic shooters for Sri Lanka
- Shooters at the 2012 Summer Olympics
- Shooters at the 2016 Summer Olympics
- Shooters at the 2006 Asian Games
- Shooters at the 2010 Asian Games
- Commonwealth Games competitors for Sri Lanka
- Shooters at the 2014 Commonwealth Games
- Asian Games competitors for Sri Lanka
- South Asian Games gold medalists for Sri Lanka
- Shooters at the 2010 Commonwealth Games
- People from Central Province, Sri Lanka
- 20th-century Sri Lankan people
- 21st-century Sri Lankan people