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Janiru: A chess champ in the making 

30 Jan 2022

By Kusumanjalee Thilakarathna Photos Saman Abesiriwardena   On the Little Stars cover today is a chess player who dreams of becoming an aircraft engineer. This 12-year-old chess player, Janiru Bathila, is a student of Lyceum International School. Ratnapura. He is also an avid reader and loves to play cricket and football.    Janiru, can you tell us more about yourself? My name is H.G. Janiru Bathila and I live in Kuruwita. I am 12 years old. I am in Grade 8. I read books. I love reading storybooks and encyclopaedias. I play chess. I love to play cricket with my father. I play football too whenever I can. I play with my dog during my leisure time. Her name is Lisa and she is black and brown.    What are your favourite books to read? I love Beast Quest and Diary of a Wimpy Kid and I just started reading the Harry Potter series. Like I said, I like to read encyclopaedias. I read about science, aircraft, and many more things. I am more interested in reading information on dinosaurs.    Which is your favourite dinosaur?  My favourite dinosaur is a T-rex, also called tyrannosaurus rex, because it looks very big and terrifying with its sharp teeth. It also was like the king of the dinosaurs.   Can you share some interesting facts about the T-rex? It had the strongest bite force among the dinosaurs. It was one of the largest predators to have lived on the planet. It was not the biggest. It had a very muscular neck and strong claws. Scientists say that these claws helped it to get up. When it went to sleep, it wouldn’t have been able to get up without those claws. If not for the claws, the T-rex would have taken more than a day to get up from its sleeping position.   All dinosaurs are extinct now. How do you think the world would be if the dinosaurs were still there? I would like it if there were dinosaurs so that we could study them more and learn more about their behaviour and their hunting styles. We can know how big these creatures really were. We don’t know 100% about dinosaurs.    When did you start to play chess? I started playing chess at my school, Lyceum International – Ratnapura in 2017. I had to stop playing chess when I was in Grade 6. But fortunately, I could restart.      What are the most important competitions that you have taken part in? Last week I participated in the Ratnapura District Novices Chess Championship organised by the Sri Lanka Chess Federation. I emerged champion with 4.5 points in five rounds. I have participated in district level and provincial level tournaments and have been selected to play at all-island level. I really loved my experience at the District Level Rapid Chess Championships. I became the champion in 2018.    What are the other competitions you participate in? In school, I take part in best speaker and singing competitions. I have also received awards in Trinity Speech and Drama exams. I also try out announcing at school events.    Your sister Sasmi Sithumsa is one of the most talented young chess players in Sri Lanka. When Little Stars spoke to her she said she was inspired to play chess because of you. How do you feel about being Sasmi’s big brother?  I am really happy that she has got a great position in chess and I am also thrilled when I think that she was inspired by me.    Do you plan to play cricket in school? I used to play cricket as an extracurricular in school before the pandemic. Unfortunately, I couldn’t continue because the schools were closed. So, for now, I play with my father and my friend. There is a big ground nearby and sometimes we go there; at other times we play cricket on our lane. But it's not easy to play cricket on the road. We have to be careful about being on the road and also about hitting the windows of neighbouring houses with the ball.   Are you also a music enthusiast? I do music for fun. It relaxes me a lot. It’s not a serious subject of study for me. I do it because it makes me happy.    You said your ambition is to become an aircraft engineer. Why do you plan to become an aircraft engineer? I want to become an aircraft engineer not because it’s a luxury. I want to make improvements to aircraft that are there now and improve aircraft facilities for passengers.    What tips can you share with your friends who are coming back to school after a long period of online schooling? You have to obey the health guidelines issued; remember to wear the masks at all times when you are at school. I know it feels horrible to wear a mask for six to seven hours straight. It’s exhausting. But now that school is reopened and we get to meet our friends and enjoy schoolwork. If we want to continue attending school, we really need to stick to these guidelines.  Wear two masks if possible. Wash your hands with soap whenever you can and use a sanitiser if soap and water are not available. When you use sanitiser, don’t be stingy with it. Use a good amount of sanitiser to properly clean your hands. Continue to be careful even if you have received the vaccine.   Whom do you want to thank for supporting you in all your endeavours? A big thank you goes to my parents and my sister for always having my back. I want to mention my Principal Madam, all the teachers, previous coach Mr. Rasika Samaranayake, current coaches in school, Mr. Ashan Dharmasiri, Mr. Hirantha Rathnayake and also Mrs. Lalandi Chathurika Jayani.  


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