- From sporting glory to academic excellence, Theeksha got it all
Joining us today is an all-round personality who has proven his multifaceted talents in sports and academia at the highest level. Whether it's rugby or cricket, he is not the biggest player on the pitch, however he carries himself a big heart and has marshalled his troops both at school and university to win multiple championship titles.
The Daily Morning spoke to Theeksha Gunasinghe, the President of Sports Council at the University of Colombo (UOC). Theeksha is also the captain of the inter-university championship winning rugby outfit of UOC. During his schooling days at the hill capital, Theeksha was a rock-solid cricketer and captained the Antonian Eagles to bring back their lost glory and instilled an everlasting legacy with a sublime academic record too.
Following are excerpts from the interview:
Tell us how you got into sports and those early days of life
I come from a sporting family which explains my involvement in sports from the early days of life. Starting with my grandfathers, G. A. S. Gunasinghe was a prominent sportsman at Dharmaraja College and subsequently at Tea Research Institute Talawakele and Sena Kalpage, was a former Cricket captain at Nalanda College who represented Sri Lanka Schools. My uncles, Ruwan and Nuwan Kalpage were former Cricket captains at St. Anthony’s College. Ruwan went on to represent Sri Lanka as well. My elder brother, Nimesha Gunasinghe is also a professional cricketer who captained St. Anthony’s and currently plays for Colombo Cricket Club (CCC). My mom is the first cricket captain at Mahamaya Girls College, Kandy too. So sports, especially cricket, has always been a big part of my family. I started my sporting journey by getting my hands on the oval ball (rugby) when I was only 7 years old. I would just go for Under-10 (smallest age group we had back in 2007) training sessions and hang around. My entrance to cricket was in 2008 when I joined the Kandy Cricket Academy. It’s been a remarkable journey since then continuing at college up until now at the University of Colombo.
Can you tell us a little about your school life at St. Anthony’s?
I joined St. Anthony’s College Kandy in 2006. Thanks to the remarkable support system I had both at home and school, I was able to have an illustrious school career. Talking about sports, which for me, was the highlight of my school life. I first started with rugby and cricket. Took up Athletics and Basketball on top of them which I did until I was 16. Captained college in cricket and rugby both throughout all junior teams and in the senior level (Under-19). I captained cricket and continued rugby as well. In terms of academics, I got through the grade 5 scholarship exam and was able to keep up the good work by achieving high grades both at Ordinary and Advanced levels which I passed with 9 A’s and 4 A’s respectively. Did a bunch of extra-curricular things among this too. I was involved briefly with dancing, drama and elocution every now and then. I was also honoured to be involved in leadership positions at college as the head prefect of the primary school and a senior prefect at the College Prefects Guild. So I pretty much tried everything and anything that I could get my hands on and managed to do a decent job I reckon. However, for me, the best thing more than all the accomplishments are the people I got to spend my time with and all the fun memories we carry now.
How was growing up in a school deeply steeped in a sporting culture?
As a person who loves to watch and play sports, what more can you ask for? The rich history and legacy that St. Anthony’s carries when it comes to sports, particularly rugby and cricket, was definitely a major driving force. What makes the college even better is the support and encouragement we get from all stakeholders (from Rev. Fr. Principal and the staff to the old boys and coaches) to take up whatever we like and pursue them as much as we could. I was never discouraged to take up multiple sports (even when the 2 sports I picked did not complement each other entirely on the physical front at least) as long as I took care of myself, academics and continued to contribute to my best capacity. Having such a supportive culture between sports and all parties involved at college is what separates St. Anthony’s from the rest. I wouldn’t have had it any other way and I’m deeply grateful for the college for allowing me to do what I love and supporting me through it all.
What are some of your most memorable moments during your school career?
On the sporting front, when I was captaining the Under-16 college rugby team in 2015, we
were unbeaten in the League, Central Province Champions and topped off the year by
becoming All-island Champions. This was our first taste of a championship and is quite
special for me and team mates. We couldn’t get our hands on a championship in rugby after
that but still managed to win some crucial games at the senior level. Being able to continue to play with that same set of boys from junior level and share the field with them until the end of our careers was delightful.
In cricket, being the Under-17 All Island Division One Runners-up in 2017 was a special
highlight. We had a wonderful season that year by beating some top class sides in the
tournament. 2019 was my final year at college sports and I was the 1st XI Cricket captain which made it quite special at the outset itself.
A few highlights of that year would be,
• Promoting College back to Division-1 in senior schools cricket after 4 long years of
waiting
• Facing our arch-rivals Trinity College on 4 different occasions in the same year and
beating them 3 times
• Winning the 107th Murali-Vaas encounter after 28 years by beating the strong St.
Joseph’s outfit by an innings and 17 runs. I made my highest score in my schools career
by scoring 142 that day
• Going on to score 1000 runs that season becoming the 11th Antonian in the history of
the College to hit the 1000-run milestone
• Being awarded the Most Popular Schoolboy Cricketer of the year at the 41st Mobitel Observer School Cricketer of the Year Awards
To top all these sporting achievements and the success I had on the academics side of things, I
was honoured with the ‘Bede Gold Medal’ (Awarded to the Best All-round Student at college and the highest recognition presented to an Antonian while in school) which was the pinnacle of my school career.
How did you manage both studies and sports and reach great results?
All credit goes to the amazing support I had from the wonderful people around me. My biggest strengths were that my parents, brother and grandparents brought me up in such a loving and encouraging environment where I felt safe not only to try different things I loved, but even fail doing so. The values my teachers, old boys and seniors at college instilled in me were my armor. Once you are brought up in such an encouraging environment where things like discipline, commitment and responsibility are practised and valued highly, it’s just a matter of holding myself up to those standards in everything I do or try to raise those standards even more. So managing sports and academics for me wasn’t a burden or a big pressure because I had fun doing it and I had the backing from everyone around me. I did have to sacrifice things like trips and social events both in and out of school because I always had something related to rugby or cricket or academics (at least a tuition class) most of the time which was a cost I was willing to bear in exchange to how much fun I had doing what I loved. So I’d say for me, the key was to do what I enjoyed the most and do them wholeheartedly without cutting corners.
How’s life at the University of Colombo?
Life at the University of Colombo was quite an experience. I was able to associate with some amazing people and continue my involvement in sports, rugby this time. I’m finishing off my final year there at the Department of Business Economics in the Faculty of Management and Finance. I captained the University of Colombo rugby team this year and we became the Champions at Inter-university Rugby Championship 2024. I’m also serving as the President of the Amalgamated Club (Sports Council) at the university. Like I said, university experience for me was all about the lovely people I got to meet; from my batchmates to the amazing people from the sports community, especially the rugby team. It was also an eye-opening experience for me where I was humbled and sometimes left speechless after getting to know the amazing stories of some of my mates. There’s some amazing talent and pure grit in that community and I’m so grateful to experience it. From daunting lectures, last minute panic attacks trying to submit assignments on time to the crazy nights we had during different events at uni was all worth it and I only wish that it lasted more.
How would you see/rate university sports in Sri Lanka?
It’s definitely picking up really fast and the competition is rising at a faster pace than ever before. Some universities opening up sports management/sports science degrees have allowed sports talent from schools who performed at the highest level to get university entrance and that has elevated sports to a much higher level. Old boys and old girls coming together to support sports just like in schools by investing in equipment, nutrition and top-level coaches is also becoming a trend nowadays. And of course with the recognition university sports are getting through the media, there’s definitely more awareness and enthusiasm. There’s still, of course, a long way to go. The disparity between universities that are exposed to a sporting culture geographically and those outstation universities is still massive. Also, the gap between unis that do offer a sports management degree and those who don’t is also widening day by day. However, if this momentum keeps going with more support to all unis across the nation and with more unis opening up pathways to attract sporting talent, there is definitely hope for university sports in the future.
What are you up to these days?
Right now, I’m doing an internship as part of my degree programme at Frontier Research Private Limited where I’m working as a Trainee Research Analyst. We also just completed the Inter-university Games 2024 and managed to finish as the second runner-up overall. Currently involved in organising the university Colours Night and Freshers Championship and wrapping up my duties as the President of the Sports Council after those events.
What are your upcoming goals and targets?
Career wise, I’m looking forward to continuing my journey as an Economic Analyst at Frontier where I’m learning a lot and gaining valuable exposure even right now. Hopefully aiming to pursue a career in that field while also having a certain level of engagement in sports. In the meantime I’m also thinking of switching back to playing a bit of Cricket again just to be in touch and have fun.
What's your message to our youngsters in the island nation?
Well, from the little I’ve learned and experienced so far, all I know is that we are living in the easiest and most dangerous time on earth. Navigating through this can be quite tricky. You don’t have to do complex things. Simply taking responsibility for yourself and living an enjoyable life with the right values and principles backing your choices will be my message to those youngsters out there.