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Don’t sacrifice your happiness: Sahan Dikmadugodage

14 Jun 2020

By Ravija Sejan There will be no game of cricket without a bat and a ball. We all know that. But did you know that we only have one bat manufacturer in Sri Lanka? The sole bat manufacturer of Sri Lanka, Staunch, was established in June 2019 by Sahan Dikmadugodage when he was only 23 years old. Below are excerpts of the interview with Sahan Dikmadugodage, conducted by the Media Society of Royal Institute, Gampaha under the guidance of Ramith Dheerasekara. Every successful person has a backstory about how it all began. Can you tell us your backstory? I was raised in Australia and I came here in January 2017. I went to buy some cricket shirts from a cricket shop and I saw that cricket bats are really expensive, like Rs. 70,000 or 80,000, which are not that expensive in Australia. So I went to Australia again in April and in the backyard of our house, I thought to myself that Sri Lanka doesn’t make cricket bats. I had my semester exams in the following months, so I pondered and chose to make bats instead of sitting for the semester exams. ‘Staunch’ is a pretty rare name. How did you come up with it? Well, Staunch pretty much means strength, power, and defensive – very powerful and unbreakable. Between 2015 and 2017, I was working at the Melbourne Airport and our crew was called Staunch. When I tried to name the bats, I Googled names and thought the name should have a meaning, and so I came up with Staunch. Which country do you prefer to live in? It’s a 50-50 preference. I love this country. English willow or Kashmir willow? There are two ways I can answer this. For senior players, late teenagers, and professional players, I recommend English willow because they are lighter and stronger bats. But if you’re growing up, I recommend a Kashmir bat. Shane Warne or Muralitharan? Growing up, I was a leg-spinner, so I have to go with Shane Warne. Glenn McGrath or Chaminda Vass? That’s a bit hard – one’s a right-arm, and one’s a left-arm. Simply, Chaminda Vass. Sanath Jayasuriya or Adam Gilchrist? Hands down, Adam Gilchrist. Mahela Jayawardene or Ricky Ponting? I’ll go with Mahela Jayawardene. Who’s the better Australian captain, Ricky Ponting or Shane Warne? Or shall we give you a better option – Michael Clarke. Hands down, Michael Clarke. I like the way he handles the team and so on. Can you share some school memories with us? I love high school. I remember skipping school and going to the beach and stuff like that. The thing is, you don’t remember the days you study, but you remember the days you had fun. Did you have any nicknames? I was called the Alpha. Do you have any advice for children? Just follow your heart! I know that a lot of Sri Lankan kids want to please the interests of their parents, and so they sometimes sacrifice their happiness. For me, it’s just about following your heart and your dreams. If schoolchildren playing cricket want to buy these bats, where could they get them from? You can buy bats from our factory at the moment in Angoda and also order bats from our website www.staunchsports.com. We have different grades of bats and students can choose what is more suitable for them. The economies around the world have been affected due to the Covid-19 pandemic. How has it affected you? 2020 was planned to be a big year for me. Unfortunately, nothing went as planned. However, people still seem to be interested in this and we are about to open a showroom in Colombo. Well, it is not in our control and we cannot stop it. Even if I make some different decisions, I cannot change the pandemic. So you adapt, overcome, and keep going. Do you have any final words for our audience before we conclude? I want to manufacture a wide range of cricket accessories in Sri Lanka for the public as well as to export around the world, and put Sri Lanka on the map. We are a cricket nation and I want to show that we can produce cricket products in Sri Lanka, give people jobs, help the economy, and serve the country.


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