As an 11-year-old he joined an athletics club in his home town in Sri Lanka and soon discovered he had a natural talent for hurdles.

Ranasinghe, 30, will represent Monash University at the Australian University Games this week in Melbourne.

His strength is the 400m hurdle, with a personal best of 53.5 seconds. He will also compete in the 4 x 100, 4 x 400 and medley relays.

Earlier this year, he took out silver at the Victorian open athletics championships and is considered by his coach to be a top contender at the university games.

In between studying for his PhD in theoretical statistics, he trains both at the gym and on the field six days a week with the Glen Huntly Athletics club.

Ranasinghe said the student competitors were of a high standard.

"This year we have competitors from outside Australia and, being from Sri Lanka myself, I look forward to welcoming people from different cultures.

"I think the university games are bringing unity to sport. Australia's very welcoming of other cultures.

"People are always encouraging you and you get more out of it that way, and universities are a really good breeding ground for sports players. A lot of people have gone on to greater things.''

The Australian University Games, which run until Friday, feature more than 6500 student athletes from 42 universities who will compete in 30 sports at a number of Melbourne sports complexes.

Monash University's Clayton campus will host six sports: touch football, Australian rules, badminton, squash, hockey and handball. Details: www.monash.edu/unigames

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