{
  "id": 5179381,
  "title": "Winners to receive medals at Western Province School Games after many years",
  "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/09/02/winners-to-receive-medals-at-western-province-school-games-after-many",
  "topic": "world",
  "section": "World",
  "published": "2026-09-02T20:47:39.000Z",
  "source": {
    "name": "The Island Sri Lanka",
    "slug": "the-island-sri-lanka",
    "url": "http://island.lk/__trashed/"
  },
  "original_language": "en",
  "account": "After a prolonged absence, winners at the Western Province Schools Games will be awarded medals for the first time in over five years. Upali Amaratunga, Additional Provincial Director of Education, revealed that medals will be presented to all winners, regardless of whether they competed in team sports or individual events. This decision comes after years of authorities citing financial constraints as the reason for abandoning the tradition. In stark contrast to the other provinces, Western Province had either downplayed or ignored the issue in recent times. The Provincial Schools Games are a part of the All-Island Schools Games and are held in the Western Province, which boasts the highest number of participating schools in the country. The track and field competitions for the Western Province Schools Games are set to begin at Diyagama next week.",
  "summary": "School athletes claiming podium positions at the Western Province Schools Games will receive medals for the first time in more than half a decade this year. ”Medals will be awarded to winners of all sports this time, whether it is team sports or individual events,” said Upali Amaratunga, Additional Provincial Director of Education, in an […]",
  "key_points": [],
  "editors_take": null,
  "illustration": null,
  "coverage": {
    "outlets": 1,
    "also_reported_by": []
  },
  "ai_generated": true,
  "disclaimer": "Summaries, key points and the editor’s take are written by software from other outlets’ reporting and may contain errors — always check the linked original."
}