By Susil Premalal   

Paris Olympic Games athletes Aruna Dharshana (Men’s 400m) and Tharushi Karunarathna (Women’s 800m) will light the traditional Olympic Torch at the 48th National Sports Games (NSG) Athletic Championships, which begins tomorrow at the Sugathadasa Stadium in Colombo.   

The 48th NSG Athletic Championships will commence at 3.30 p.m. with President Ranil Wickremesinghe as the Chief Guest. The closing ceremony will take place on July 19 under the patronage of Prime Minister Dinesh Gunawardena at 4.30 p.m.   

Dharshana will represent the Eastern Province while Karunarathna will represent the Central Province.   

Meanwhile, the Women’s javelin thrower and Paris Olympic Games Overall Team Captain Dilhani Lekamge of the Southern Province will deliver the Athletes’ Oath.   

Dharshana, Karunarathna and Lekamge will be the cynosure of all eyes at the NSG Athletic Championships where over 900 competitors from the nine provinces have qualified to participate.   
The 48th NSG includes 33 sports disciplines and already 32 of them have been completed.