By Katie Speldewinde
OCA Youth Reporter from Sri Lanka
Nagoya, Japan, October 1, 2026: For Harsha Karunaratne, the road back to the athletics track was never a straight one.
Long before his younger sister, Tharushi, became an Asian Games champion, Harsha was already making a name for himself in the 800m. His silver medal at the 2017 Asian Youth Championships marked him as one of Sri Lanka’s promising young middle-distance runners, but his influence extended beyond his own performances, as he was also an inspiration to his younger sister, who grew up watching him compete and dreaming of following the same path.
Yet, while Tharushi’s career continued to rise, Harsha’s journey took a very different turn. At just 19, an injury forced him away from athletics and, with the added pressure of helping his family financially, competing was no longer something he could prioritise.
He turned to work and gradually stepped away from the sport that had once shaped so much of his life, leaving the track behind as he focused on responsibilities away from competition.
His return began unexpectedly during the COVID-19 period, when he started accompanying Tharushi to training. What initially began simply as a way of supporting his younger sister slowly reconnected him with the sport he had once walked away from, and being around the track again reminded him of just how much he had missed it.
“I was going there for her at first, but being around the track again made me realise how much I missed it. I started thinking that maybe I could still do something.”
That thought gradually became a second chance. With the encouragement of veteran coach Susantha Fernando, Harsha began training again and started the difficult process of rebuilding himself as an athlete after years away from international competition. The comeback required more than physical preparation, as he also had to rediscover the confidence and belief that had once made him one of Sri Lanka’s promising young runners.
In 2025, his return began to take shape when he competed at the South Asian Athletics Championships and won the 800m in 1:51.96, marking his return to international competition and providing an early indication that his years away had not erased his ability to compete at a high level.
He continued to improve in 2026, winning the 800m at the Malaysian Open in 1:50.61 before producing the biggest performance of his comeback at the National Championships in September. His time of 1:47.80 secured the title, broke the meet record and became the fastest 800m time recorded by a Sri Lankan on home soil, earning him a place at the Aichi-Nagoya 2026 Asian Games.
For Harsha, competing in Nagoya carried a significance that went far beyond a single result, as he had returned to the continental stage after years in which an injury, financial responsibilities and time away from the sport had made an international career seem like a distant possibility. His Asian Games campaign ended in the heats, but simply wearing the Sri Lankan colours again at one of Asia’s biggest sporting events represented an achievement in itself.
“I've gone through a lot to come back here, so for me, being able to compete for Sri Lanka again at this level is something I really value.”
There is also something fitting about the way Harsha’s journey has come full circle, because the older brother who once inspired his younger sister to pursue athletics is now part of a generation that has been inspired by everything she has achieved. Their careers have taken different paths, but the support between them has remained constant, with both understanding the sacrifices and discipline required to compete at the highest level.
“When I see what Tharushi has achieved, I feel proud. We have always supported each other. We both know how much work goes into this.”
Harsha’s story is, therefore, about much more than an athlete returning from injury. It is the story of a young man who stepped away from the sport at 19, put his own ambitions aside to help his family and eventually found his way back to the track while supporting the sister who had once looked up to him.
What began as a return to training for someone else gradually became a return to something he had thought he had lost, allowing him to rediscover not only his place in athletics but also the belief that his own career still had another chapter to offer.