Just a few months ago we got the opportunity to cover a university level basketball tournament, The Big West Slam tournament held at the University of Moratuwa premises. Throughout the event one young player caught everyone’s eye including ours, with his on-target shoots, his impenetrable defense and energy. He left everyone entranced with his hooping and dribbling skills and grabbed the limelight in style, as the best player of the tournament. Quite literally we were witnessing some raw talent with our own eyes. That player was none other than Rukshan Athapaththu, who will be leading Sri Lanka at the inaugural 3-a-side basketball event at the upcoming Birmingham Commonwealth Games.
Having spearheaded his school team as well as the youth national teams, including achieving some massive strides in U18 basketball, Rukshan hasn’t gone off from his upward trajectory, representing Sri Lanka at the international level at multiple occasions and now to lead the hope of the nation at one of the biggest sporting events in the world. Now he is a 3rd year engineering undergraduate at the University of Moratuwa. Him being an icon in university sports and an inspiration for all the up and coming athletes, we as MoraSpirit got the opportunity to have a little chat with Rukshan Athapaththu and walk our way through his journey and into the future.
We know the Commonwealth Games is one of the biggest sporting events in the world. What does it feel like to lead your nation at such a huge stage?
In the 2017 U18 FIBA 3 x 3 Asian Cup, we were able to beat Japan for the very first time in history and reached the quarter-finals. We lost to the eventual champions China by just 9 points. That was the time that I realized that we could do anything as Sri Lankans. Most of the time people think that Sri Lanka can’t achieve anything at the international level and that’s how people look at us. Even the commentators were surprised by the way we played. After that experience I was determined to bring a world championship to the country but after joining the national senior men’s team I witnessed a lack of attitude to attain that goal. I thought to myself that I had to do something to correct this. So this would be a great opportunity to form better attitudes in my team and lead for a better future, previously as the vice captain and now as the captain of the national team.
How were you introduced to the sport of basketball and how did you fall in love with the sport in the first place?
At the school level I participated in multiple sports including Chess, Rugby, Badminton and Basketball. Although I played Badminton really well, even beating some of the team members, I could not get selected to the team due to some favourations. I was determined to prove to the whole country that talent can’t be challenged by anything. With that in mind, I focused myself on basketball and my coach Mr. Srilal always pushed us to improve ourselves and formed the team spirit which made me fall in love with basketball. He not only looked after the basketball side but also looked after our studies as well. With that I wanted to excel in basketball at the national level and perform well in studies, both.
You mentioned excelling in studies alongside basketball. As an engineering undergraduate at the University of Moratuwa you have a high academic workload. How do you balance your studies alongside playing basketball for your country and what advice would you give for the up-and-coming athletes from university level and beyond?
I myself don’t let my work get packed up and I complete my work on the given day itself. It has helped me to balance my basketball and studies. My advice would be if someone needs to achieve something he/she has to make sacrifices and commit to that goal. I’ve had to sacrifice my sleep and enjoyable time with my family and friends. These things are not passed along through family or can be gained by favourations, you have to work hard to fulfill your targets. Everyone has ups and downs in their lives but don’t give up. As athletes we face many injuries, including myself, but I rose up from those. Today I’m extremely happy about where I am. It all depends on your dedication.
We know the country is in a crisis situation currently and that might have affected you as well. What hardships have you faced due to this situation and what other obstacles have you faced, in your preparation for the games?
What we struggled the most was due to power failures and transportation issues. With some of the team members being employed in the private sector and some still studying we used to practice in the morning and the evening. Previously we practiced from 6.00 - 9.00 but now we are forced to practice from 4.00 - 7.00 due to the current situation. Everyone had to make sacrifices. You know at night there are no buses or they are over crowded. Some days I had to even walk home. Even though we’ve had to face these challenges, we adjusted ourselves to give our best for the Commonwealth Games.
Through all these hardships you are still preparing yourself the best. So, what are the goals you hope to achieve through all this hard work at the Commonwealth Games and tell us a little about the rivals you will be facing at the games?
In the group stage we will be facing Scotland, Kenya and Canada. We prepare our strategies for each and every match separately, so we are focusing only on the match with Scotland at the moment. Our goal is to reach the semi-finals and we’ll see how it goes.
What have been the most significant achievements of your basketball career to date and where do you see your career personally, going into the future?
I can’t point out a single significant moment because there have been many throughout my life. When I was playing at the U15 category in my school I got the chance to play for the college U19 team. We had a match with Maris Stella College, who were the champions at the previous tournament and we were able to win it. I myself was able to score about 58 points in that tournament and I consider that as one of the most significant achievements of my life. I also made history in Sri Lankan basketball by being an U15 player, playing for the U19 team. In 2016, 2017 and 2018 I was able to become the Most Valuable Player consecutively in the same tournament under the same age group, which goes down in history as well. There are only a few players who have got selected for the national team at their very first attempt and I was able to become one of them. In my very first tour in the national team for the South Asian Games, even though I was the youngest player, I could become a key part of the team. Also I had the opportunity to become the youngest vice captain of the Sri Lankan national team. With all these, to be able to lead my country at the very first introduction of 3 x 3 basketball at the Commonwealth Games is a massive privilege. Not many people can achieve these things, so I’m really proud of myself.
I have 2 years left in my undergraduate studies and I am planning to get a first class degree. Also I am aiming to complete my masters abroad thereafter. At the moment we are 132th in World rankings and we used to be around 116th. We have fallen short a little due to the lack of tournaments but in the Asian qualifiers we were close to Palestine and Jordan so I know that we have a lot of potential and I believe we can achieve 50th in the world rankings. So that would be my plan after the Commonwealth games, to push my team forward.
As a national level player you have traveled a lot and participated in a number of tournaments. Can you recall some of your fondest experiences and some light hearted memories along the way?
For everyone, school life is unforgettable, it was the same for me. In 2016 we got selected for the all-island tournament which was held in Jaffna. I had a great time staying with my school-mates. We got the opportunity to stay at a Navy camp even. So it was an unforgettable experience for myself and I really loved it all the way.
On an international level, when I participated at the South Asian Games we had practices in the morning and the evening. We stayed at the Sugathadasa Sports Hotel together and it was a memorable experience to spend the time with the seniors and my team-mates.
We can relate to that because we ourselves also had such a great time in our school life and it must have been great for you to have that special experience. Moving along the same way, you are a part of a young squad, how has this helped you to be more successful at the upcoming games?
It’s like this, we know it’s hard to change the attitudes of the seniors and attitudes are everything in winning a championship. So having a young squad would make it easier for me to create a correct mindset among the team members on the way to claim the world championship in 3 x 3 and push my team towards the top ranking teams in the world. It was a great opportunity for me to play for the senior team at such a young age and to gain all the experience and knowledge from them which has been immensely helpful for my role as the captain of the national team.
Rukshan you have excelled in school level basketball, have been the vice captain of the Sri Lankan team and now the captain. Who have been the biggest pillars of success behind your journey?
My family has been the biggest pillar behind me. My mothers always taught me how to sort the right from the wrong and my father regularly shares his experience about society with me which has been helpful to deal with people during my journey so far. Unlike other families who compete with the outside, me and my sister have been competitive with each other, her also being involved in sports. Both of us are balancing sports and academics at the same time, which has pushed us into winning in sports while excelling in academic prospects too. There’s another person who has been my backbone and motivated me when I was down with injuries.
On a final note, if you could pass along a short message to our readers, what could it be?
If you want to achieve something you should never give up. The outside world would laugh at you saying that it’s easy to achieve but you and the others who have achieved their goals know how hard it is. You may not be able to achieve it at your first attempt, as I myself was not able to do so, but you should never give up. Also if you want something one day, you have to make sacrifices because once you get to the peak nothing can stop you and you can continue to reach your end goals. Don’t let other people’s negativity discourage you.
MoraSpirit would like to thank Rukshan for sparing his valuable time with us to share his thoughts. We wish him the best of luck for the upcoming Commonwealth Games. We will be watching closely and supporting him all the way, hoping for some exceptional achievements and marking new strides in the Sri Lankan Basketball legend in the future.
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