Peter Ranasinghe
{{Short description|Sri Lankan footballer (c. 1933–2022)}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=January 2022}}
{{Infobox football biography
| name = Peter Ranasinghe
| image = Peter Ranasinghe.png
| caption = Peter during his playing days
| image_size =
| fullname = Peter Ranasinghe
| birth_date = {{circa}} 1933
| birth_place = Colombo, British Ceylon
(present-day Sri Lanka)
| death_date = {{death date and given age|2022|11|17|df=y|88}}
| death_place = Perth, Australia
| height =
| position = Midfielder, striker
| youthyears1 = –1951
| youthclubs1 = St. Joseph's College
| years1 = 1951–
| clubs1 = University of Ceylon
| caps1 =
| goals1 =
| years2 = 1955–1956
| clubs2 = Colombo Central Colours
| caps2 =
| goals2 =
| years3 = 1958–?
| clubs3 = Old Joes SC
| caps3 =
| goals3 =
| nationalyears1 = 1953–1963
| nationalteam1 = Ceylon
| nationalcaps1 =
| nationalgoals1 =
}}
Peter Ranasinghe ({{langx|si|පීටර් රණසිංහ}}; {{circa}} 1933 – 17 November 2022) was a Sri Lankan football player who primarily played as a midfielder. He was captain of the Sri Lanka national team on numerous occasions.
Early life
Ranasinghe, an alumnus of St. Joseph's College, Colombo, excelled in soccer alongside his brother Christopher. Both eventually played for the Ceylon national team. Their father, also a soccer player, worked as a Forest Department officer and lived near the Government Service Ground.{{Cite web|first=Subhani|last=Hassimdeen|url=http://www.sundaytimes.lk/140615/sports/legends-of-sri-lanka-soccer-103436.html|title=Legends of Sri Lanka soccer|website=The Sundaytimes|date=15 June 2014|access-date=31 May 2024}} Peter participated in Inter-College Football Tournaments, playing as a center-forward.{{Cite web|first=Leslie|last=Fernando|url=https://archives.dailynews.lk/2007/06/30/spo20.asp|title=Peter Ranasinghe was one of Sri Lanka’s soccer greats|date=30 June 2007|access-date=31 May 2024|website=archives.dailynews.lk}}
Club career
Peter graduated from the University of Ceylon and began representing the Old Joes Sports Club, where he won the CFA Cup by defeating Cargills at the Colombo Oval in 1958.{{Cite web|url=https://quadrangle.lk/man-with-the-goal-den-boot/|title=MAN WITH THE GOAL-DEN BOOT….|date=26 October 2015|access-date=31 May 2024|website=Quadrangle Magazine}} He played in midfield alongside national players like Durand Perera, Bagoos Saldin, K.M. Thomas, and Anton Mariyadasan. Eventually, he led Old Joes at the Gold Cup floodlit tournament final against Saunders SC, which finished in a controversial draw. Earlier, he successfully led the Colombo Central Colours team to win the prestigious Inter-District Championship in 1955 and 1956, organized by the Ceylon Football Association.{{Cite web|url=https://archives1.sundayobserver.lk/2022/11/27/sports/peter-ranasinghe-gentle-giant-sri-lanka-football-par-excellence|title=Peter Ranasinghe the gentle giant of Sri Lanka football par excellence|date=27 November 2022|access-date=31 May 2024|website=Sunday Observer}} One of his final contributions to football came in the early 1970s when he led the Nugegoda League Team against a Combined XI during an exhibition match at the Mirihana Police Ground.
International career
Peter made his debut for the Ceylon national team during the 1953 Asian Quadrangular Football Tournament in Rangoon, Burma, under the captaincy of T.H. Soono. He later captained the team during the 1954 Asian Quadrangular Football Tournament in Calcutta, India, playing as a central midfielder. Ceylon tied 1–1 with eventual champions India and secured their first-ever international victory by defeating Burma 2–1, finishing as tournament runners-up. In the 1955 Asian Quadrangular Football Tournament, Peter continued as captain, playing in a more advanced position.{{Cite web|first=Subhani|last=Hassimdeen|url=http://www.sundaytimes.lk/130623/sports/sri-lankas-first-international-win-at-football-49901.html|title=Sri Lanka’s first international win at football|date=23 June 2013|access-date=31 May 2024|website=The Sundaytimes Sri Lanka}}{{Cite web|url=https://www.fifa.com/fifaplus/en/articles/when-christmas-arrived-a-day-early-for-sri-lankan-football-in-1954|title=When Christmas arrived a day early for Sri Lankan football in 1954|date=24 February 2023|access-date=31 May 2024|website=FIFA+}} He scored two goals against India in a 3–4 defeat and a free kick goal in a 1–2 loss to Pakistan, with Ceylon finishing at the bottom of the points table.{{Cite web|url=https://www.rsssf.org/tablesb/brindies-quad.html#55|title=Asian Quadrangular Tournament (Colombo Cup) 1952-1955|website=RSSSF|access-date=31 May 2024}} Peter also led the Ceylon team in the 1964 Summer Olympics qualifiers against India over two legs.
Personal life
In 1956, he became an Assistant Lecturer at the University of Ceylon, left for the UK on a Federation of British Industries Scholarship in February 1958, and returned in 1959. He represented the Colombo Commercial Company of the Mercantile League Football Tournament, the company he served as an engineer, later promoted to the rank of Director before he migrated to Australia in 1961.
Death
On November 17, 2022, Peter died at his residence in Perth, Australia.{{Cite web|url=https://tributes.smh.com.au/obituaries/464371/peter-ranasinghe/?r=https://tributes.smh.com.au/obituaries/smh-au/|title=Peter Ranasinghe Death Notice|date=25 November 2022|access-date=31 May 2024|publisher=Sydney Morning Herald|website=tributes.smh.com.au}}{{Cite web|url=https://lankasara.com/si/%e0%b6%b4%e0%b7%94%e0%b7%80%e0%b6%ad%e0%b7%8a/%e0%b6%b4%e0%b7%8f-%e0%b6%b4%e0%b6%b1%e0%b7%8a%e0%b6%af%e0%b7%94-%e0%b6%b4%e0%b7%94%e0%b6%bb%e0%b7%8f%e0%b7%80%e0%b7%98%e0%b6%ad%e0%b6%ba%e0%b6%9a%e0%b7%8a-%e0%b6%b6%e0%b6%b3%e0%b7%94-%e0%b7%84/|title=පා පන්දු පුරාවෘතයක් බඳු හිටපු ශ්රී ලංකා ජාතික පාපන්දු නායක පීටර් රණසිංහ අභාවප්රාප්ත වෙයි!|access-date=30 May 2024|date=19 November 2022|website=Lankasara}}{{Cite web|url=https://archives1.sundayobserver.lk/2022/11/20/sports/ex-football-captain-peter-ranasinghe-no-more|title=Ex-football captain Peter Ranasinghe no more|date=20 November 2022|access-date=31 May 2024|website=Sunday Observer}}
References
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Category:Sri Lankan men's footballers
Category:Sri Lanka men's international footballers
Category:Alumni of the University of Ceylon
Category:Alumni of Saint Joseph's College, Colombo
Category:Men's association football midfielders