Sergeant Dinesh Priyantha Herath who made history by winning Gold in Paralympics 2020 in Tokyo was promoted to the rank of Warrant Officer 1 by Chief of Defence Staff and Commander of the Army, General Shavendra Silva with approval of the President Gotabaya Rajapaksa and the Secretary Ministry of Defence General Kamal Gunaratne (Retd).
General Shavendra Silva, Chief of Defence Staff and Commander of the Army was the first to extend warm wishes and congratulations to Sergeant Dinesh Priyantha Herath. He is from the Gajaba Regiment which represents HE the President Gotabaya Rajapaksa, Secretary Defence, General (Retd) Kamal Gunerathne and Chief of Defence Staff and Commander of the Army General Shavendra Silva.
Sergeant Dinesh Priyantha Herath made history by winning the first-ever Gold Medal in the Tokyo 2020 Paralympic Games. He who competed in the Javelin Throw (F46) event made a World Record with a distance of 67.79 meters, beating his counterparts in the event.
Sergeant Dinesh Priyantha Herath sustained injuries in enemy fire on 16 December 2008 when he was fighting against LTTE terrorists in Kilinochchi area. Enlisted to the Army on 18 March 2004 as a recruit and completed basic training at Gajaba Regiment at Saliyapura. After his injuries, he actively took part in Army-organized Para Athletic training events at the GR Regimental HQ. In 2012, he won Gold Medal in Javelin Throw (52 m) in Army Para Athletic Meet, Gold Medal in Malaysia’s Para Athletic Meet (52.95 m) in 2012, Bronze Medal in Paralympics 2016 in Rio (58.23m), Silver Medal in Germany’s Para Athletic (Qualifying) Meet (53.09m) in 2017, Silver Medal in World Para Athletic Meet-2017 in London recording 59.90 m, Gold Medal in Asian Para Games in 2018 with a new record of 61.84 m and Silver Medal in World Para Athletics Championship in 2019 with 60.59m in the Javelin Throw event. (SLArmy)