Dharsha was born on 13 February 1975 in Panadura. However, she along with her family moved to her father's hometown in Ampara at her young age.[8] She pursued her primary education at the Ampara Bandaranaike Maha Vidyalaya for a brief period of time. She along with her family returned to Panadura mainly due to the threat of LTTE which emerged in 1983 and she initially attended St. John's College for one year before transferring to Panadura Balika Maha Vidyalaya. She started competing in track and field events since the age of 13 in 1988 after joining the Panadura Balika Maha Vidyalaya. She was coached by former Sri Lankan Olympian Sunil Gunawardene. She also obtained scholarship to join the Ladies' College, Colombo in 1991 due to her success in athletics at the school level competitions. She married Eranda Siriwardane in 2003 and has three children.[9]
Careeredit
She gained her first international experience at the 1991 Malaysian Open. She made an initial impact at just 16 years when she won the 100 metres gold medal at the 1991 South Asian Games in Colombo with a new record. She broke into the limelight by winning the 100 metre gold at the Asian Junior Championships in the same year. She also eventually won the national titles in both women's 100m and 200m events at the 1991 National Athletics Championships.
She was chosen to represent Sri Lanka as a first-choice athlete at the 1992 Summer Olympics at the age of 17 and became the youngest Sri Lankan to compete at the Olympics.[10] She also became the first Sri Lankan schoolgirl to participate in the Olympics.[8] The 1992 Barcelona Olympics also marked her maiden Olympic appearance and she competed in the women's 100m and 200m events. Following the 1992 Olympics, she participated in an invitational athletics meet in Malaysia and secured gold medals in 100m and 200m events in the competition. In the same year, she received the Duncan White Trophy.
In 1993, she attended a special training session in Australia. She claimed her first international medal during the 1993 Asian Athletics Championships securing a silver medal in the 200m event with a timing of 23.29 seconds. She claimed gold medal in the 100m event at the 1994 Asian Junior Athletics Championships and set a new Asian Junior Championships record in the women's 100m event with a timing of 11.42 seconds. During the same Asian Junior Championships, she claimed silver medal in the women's 200m event and finished just behind Susanthika Jayasinghe.
She won the bronze medal in the 200 metres behind Chinese Taipei's Wang Huei-Chen and teammate Susanthika Jayasinghe at the 1994 Asian Games in Hiroshima.[11] That was the beginning of a dominant period for Sri Lanka in women's sprinting with Jayasinghe and Darsha seriously challenging the Chinese.[12]
She had a remarkable run in 1998 claiming three gold medals at the Asian regional competitions. She claimed her first gold medal in her career in the women's 400m event at the 1998 Asian Athletics Championships and followed it up with gold medals in women's 200m and 400m events at the 1998 Asian Games.[13] At the 1998 Asian Games, she also set Asian Games record in women's 200m with a new record of 22.48 seconds.[14][15][16]
She made her second appearance at the Olympics in her athletic career in 2000 after failing to qualify for the 1996 Olympics. She was also the flag bearer for Sri Lanka during the opening ceremony of the 2000 Sydney Olympics at the age of 25. She also held the record for being the youngest ever Sri Lankan flag bearer at the Olympics until it was surpassed by Milka Gehani at the 2020 Summer Olympics.[17] She defended her 400m title at the 2000 Asian Athletics Championships with a new Asian Championship record of 51.05 seconds and also claimed gold medal in the 200m event during the Asian Championships in the same year. She also successfully defended her 400m gold medal at the 2002 Asian Games in Busan. She claimed bronze medal in the women's 4 × 400 m relay at the 2002 Asian Athletics Championships. In addition, she also joined the MAS Holdings in 2003 as a senior HR executive.
She made her third and final Olympic appearance at the 2004 Summer Olympics. Her last international appearance for Sri Lanka came during the 2006 Commonwealth Games. In July 2007, Dharsha announced her retirement from athletics.[18]
In 2021, she contested in the elections for the post of Vice President of Sri Lanka Athletics Association and was elected as the Vice President of Sri Lanka Athletics Association.[21] She also became the first female Vice President of SLA and was appointed as the head of the women's sub committee of Technical Officials and Media.[22][23]
^ ab"Darsha: First Sri Lankan schoolgirl to take part in the Olympics". Sri Lanka Athletics News & information Portals. 2019-01-08. Retrieved 2021-07-15.
^"In South Asia high income does not mean more medals | More sports News - Times of India". The Times of India. September 10, 2018. Retrieved 2021-07-15.
^"Asian Games 2018: Meet the record-holders in athletics". The New Indian Express. Retrieved 2021-07-15.
^Mehrish, Akshat (2018-08-17). "Asian Games 2018: All the Games Records in Athletics". www.sportskeeda.com. Retrieved 2021-07-15.
^"Online edition of Daily News - Sports". archives.dailynews.lk. Retrieved 2021-07-15.
^Seneviratne, Akhila (2021-07-12). "Sri Lankan Flag Bearers at the Olympics: Carrying more than just a flag". ThePapare.com. Retrieved 2021-07-15.
^. Archived from the original on February 6, 2010. Retrieved December 10, 2009.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: unfit URL (link)
^"Cricket World Cup 2019, Opening Ceremony Highlights". India Today. 2019-05-29. Retrieved 2021-07-15.
^"Damayanthi Darsha of Sri Lanka bats during the ICC Cricket World Cup..." Getty Images. Retrieved 2021-07-15.
^"Damayanthi Dharsha contests VP post at SLA". Sunday Observer. 2021-03-20. Retrieved 2021-07-15.
^"Daily Mirror - Sri Lanka Latest Breaking News and Headlines - Print Edition Veteran athletics official G.L.S. Perera heads Technical Officials sub-committee". www.dailymirror.lk. Retrieved 2021-07-15.
^"Olympian Darsha wins race to become a Sri Lanka Athletics vice-presidents". Print Edition - The Sunday Times, Sri Lanka. Retrieved 2021-07-15.
damayanthi, dharsha, deshabandu, kobala, vithanage, kobalavithanage, born, february, 1975, retired, lankan, athlete, competed, metres, race, events, current, asian, games, record, holder, women, 200m, event, current, asian, athletics, championships, record, ho. Deshabandu Kobala Vithanage Damayanthi Dharsha Kobalavithanage born 13 February 1975 is a retired Sri Lankan athlete who competed in the 200 and 400 metres race events 2 3 She is the current Asian Games record holder in women s 200m event and current Asian Athletics Championships record holder in women s 400m event as well as national record holder in women s 400m She is regarded as one of the greatest track and field athletes to have represented Sri Lanka at international level alongside her teammate Susanthika Jayasinghe 4 5 She is also regarded as the most successful Sri Lankan athlete at the Asian Games with a medal haul of four medals including three gold medals and became the first Sri Lankan female athlete to clinch three Asian Games gold medals 6 She represented Sri Lanka at the Olympics on three occasions in 1992 2000 and 2004 7 She also represented Sri Lanka at the Commonwealth Games on four occasions in 1994 1998 2002 and 2006 as well as at the South Asian Games on four occasions DeshabanduDamayanthi DharshaPersonal informationNative nameදමයන ත දර ශ Full nameDamayanthi Dharsha KobalavithanageNationalitySri LankanBorn 1975 02 13 February 13 1975 age 49 Panadura Sri LankaSportCountrySri LankaSportTrack and fieldEventSprintRetired2007Achievements and titlesPersonal best s 200 m 22 48 1 Bangkok 1998 400 m 51 05 Jakarta 2000 Medal record Women s athletics Representing Sri Lanka Event 1st 2nd 3rd Asian Games 3 0 1 Asian Championships 4 1 0 Total 7 1 1 Event 1st 2nd 3rd 200 m 3 1 1 400 m 4 0 0 Asian Games 1998 Fukuoka 400 m 1998 Bangkok 200 m 2002 Busan 400 m 1994 Hiroshima 200 m Asian Championships 1998 Bangkok 400 m 2000 Jakarta 200 m 2000 Jakarta 400 m 2005 Busan 200 m 1993 Manila 200 mUpdated on 10 November 2015 Contents 1 Biography 2 Career 3 International competitions 4 References 5 External linksBiography editDharsha was born on 13 February 1975 in Panadura However she along with her family moved to her father s hometown in Ampara at her young age 8 She pursued her primary education at the Ampara Bandaranaike Maha Vidyalaya for a brief period of time She along with her family returned to Panadura mainly due to the threat of LTTE which emerged in 1983 and she initially attended St John s College for one year before transferring to Panadura Balika Maha Vidyalaya She started competing in track and field events since the age of 13 in 1988 after joining the Panadura Balika Maha Vidyalaya She was coached by former Sri Lankan Olympian Sunil Gunawardene She also obtained scholarship to join the Ladies College Colombo in 1991 due to her success in athletics at the school level competitions She married Eranda Siriwardane in 2003 and has three children 9 Career editShe gained her first international experience at the 1991 Malaysian Open She made an initial impact at just 16 years when she won the 100 metres gold medal at the 1991 South Asian Games in Colombo with a new record She broke into the limelight by winning the 100 metre gold at the Asian Junior Championships in the same year She also eventually won the national titles in both women s 100m and 200m events at the 1991 National Athletics Championships She was chosen to represent Sri Lanka as a first choice athlete at the 1992 Summer Olympics at the age of 17 and became the youngest Sri Lankan to compete at the Olympics 10 She also became the first Sri Lankan schoolgirl to participate in the Olympics 8 The 1992 Barcelona Olympics also marked her maiden Olympic appearance and she competed in the women s 100m and 200m events Following the 1992 Olympics she participated in an invitational athletics meet in Malaysia and secured gold medals in 100m and 200m events in the competition In the same year she received the Duncan White Trophy In 1993 she attended a special training session in Australia She claimed her first international medal during the 1993 Asian Athletics Championships securing a silver medal in the 200m event with a timing of 23 29 seconds She claimed gold medal in the 100m event at the 1994 Asian Junior Athletics Championships and set a new Asian Junior Championships record in the women s 100m event with a timing of 11 42 seconds During the same Asian Junior Championships she claimed silver medal in the women s 200m event and finished just behind Susanthika Jayasinghe She won the bronze medal in the 200 metres behind Chinese Taipei s Wang Huei Chen and teammate Susanthika Jayasinghe at the 1994 Asian Games in Hiroshima 11 That was the beginning of a dominant period for Sri Lanka in women s sprinting with Jayasinghe and Darsha seriously challenging the Chinese 12 She had a remarkable run in 1998 claiming three gold medals at the Asian regional competitions She claimed her first gold medal in her career in the women s 400m event at the 1998 Asian Athletics Championships and followed it up with gold medals in women s 200m and 400m events at the 1998 Asian Games 13 At the 1998 Asian Games she also set Asian Games record in women s 200m with a new record of 22 48 seconds 14 15 16 She made her second appearance at the Olympics in her athletic career in 2000 after failing to qualify for the 1996 Olympics She was also the flag bearer for Sri Lanka during the opening ceremony of the 2000 Sydney Olympics at the age of 25 She also held the record for being the youngest ever Sri Lankan flag bearer at the Olympics until it was surpassed by Milka Gehani at the 2020 Summer Olympics 17 She defended her 400m title at the 2000 Asian Athletics Championships with a new Asian Championship record of 51 05 seconds and also claimed gold medal in the 200m event during the Asian Championships in the same year She also successfully defended her 400m gold medal at the 2002 Asian Games in Busan She claimed bronze medal in the women s 4 400 m relay at the 2002 Asian Athletics Championships In addition she also joined the MAS Holdings in 2003 as a senior HR executive She made her third and final Olympic appearance at the 2004 Summer Olympics Her last international appearance for Sri Lanka came during the 2006 Commonwealth Games In July 2007 Dharsha announced her retirement from athletics 18 She represented Sri Lanka along with former veteran cricketer Mahela Jayawardene in a ten team celebrity street cricket game during the opening ceremony of the 2019 Cricket World Cup 19 20 In 2021 she contested in the elections for the post of Vice President of Sri Lanka Athletics Association and was elected as the Vice President of Sri Lanka Athletics Association 21 She also became the first female Vice President of SLA and was appointed as the head of the women s sub committee of Technical Officials and Media 22 23 International competitions editYear Competition Venue Position Event Notes Representing nbsp Sri Lanka 1992 Olympic Games Barcelona Spain 38th h 100 m 11 88 29th qf 200 m 23 89 1993 Asian Championships Manila Philippines 2nd 200 m 23 29 1994 Asian Games Hiroshima Japan 3rd 200 m 23 61 1995 World Championships Edmonton Canada 38th h 100 m 11 65 28th qf 200 m 23 45 1997 World Championships Athens Greece 22nd qf 400 m 53 49 1998 Asian Championships Fukuoka Japan 1st 400 m 51 23 Commonwealth Games Kuala Lumpur Malaysia 4th 400 m 51 06 Asian Games Bangkok Thailand 1st 200 m 22 48 1st 400 m 51 57 6th 4 400 m relay 3 40 05 1999 World Championships Seville Spain 37th h 200 m 23 57 31st qf 200 m 53 33 2000 Asian Championships Jakarta Indonesia 1st 200 m 22 84 1st 400 m 51 05 Olympic Games Sydney Australia 23rd qf 400 m 52 35 2001 World Indoor Championships Lisbon Portugal 12th sf 200 m 24 00 400 m DNF World Championships Edmonton Canada 10th sf 200 m 22 88 19th sf 400 m 51 83 8th h 4 100 m relay 43 89 2002 Commonwealth Games Manchester United Kingdom 14th sf 200 m 24 18 22nd sf 400 m 53 91 6th f 4 100 m relay 44 25 Asian Championships Colombo Sri Lanka 3rd 4 400 m relay 3 42 71 Asian Games Busan South Korea 1st 400 m 51 13 2003 World Indoor Championships Birmingham United Kingdom 24th h 400 m 54 61 Asian Championships Manila Philippines 3rd h 200 m 24 13 24 2004 Olympic Games Athens Greece 38th h 400 m 54 58 2005 Asian Championships Incheon South Korea 1st 200 m 23 21 2006 Commonwealth Games Melbourne Australia 16th sf 200 m 24 22References edit Personal Best International Association of Athletics Retrieved 10 November 2015 K V Damayanthi DARSHA Olympics com Retrieved 2021 07 15 Athletics Damayanthi Dharsha Sri Lanka www the sports org Retrieved 2021 07 15 Ranasinghe Dinushki 2020 05 08 A message from Damayanthi Darsha on COVID 19 ThePapare com Retrieved 2021 07 15 A depleted Lankan contingent on the track www sundaytimes lk Retrieved 2021 07 15 Asian Games Medal winners The Sunday Times Sri Lanka Retrieved 2021 07 15 ක ර ඩ ප රත ර ආස ය ව කළ ව ළඹ දමයන ත දර ශ ThePapare com 2017 03 17 Retrieved 2021 07 15 a b Darsha First Sri Lankan schoolgirl to take part in the Olympics Sri Lanka Athletics News amp information Portals 2019 01 08 Retrieved 2021 07 15 Rodrigopulle Elmo Flying Princess DAMAYANTHI DARSHA Daily News Retrieved 2021 07 15 Damayanthi Darsha the youngest Lankan athlete to take part in Olympics Daily News Retrieved 2021 07 15 Sunday Musings When to pick up the shining pebble www sundaytimes lk Retrieved 2021 07 15 Run Dharsha run Himal Southasian 1999 01 31 Retrieved 2021 07 15 In South Asia high income does not mean more medals More sports News Times of India The Times of India September 10 2018 Retrieved 2021 07 15 Asian Games 2018 Meet the record holders in athletics The New Indian Express Retrieved 2021 07 15 Mehrish Akshat 2018 08 17 Asian Games 2018 All the Games Records in Athletics www sportskeeda com Retrieved 2021 07 15 Online edition of Daily News Sports archives dailynews lk Retrieved 2021 07 15 Seneviratne Akhila 2021 07 12 Sri Lankan Flag Bearers at the Olympics Carrying more than just a flag ThePapare com Retrieved 2021 07 15 The Hindu Sportstar Weekly July 7 2007 Darsha calls it a day Archived from the original on February 6 2010 Retrieved December 10 2009 a href Template Cite web html title Template Cite web cite web a CS1 maint unfit URL link Cricket World Cup 2019 Opening Ceremony Highlights India Today 2019 05 29 Retrieved 2021 07 15 Damayanthi Darsha of Sri Lanka bats during the ICC Cricket World Cup Getty Images Retrieved 2021 07 15 Damayanthi Dharsha contests VP post at SLA Sunday Observer 2021 03 20 Retrieved 2021 07 15 Daily Mirror Sri Lanka Latest Breaking News and Headlines Print Edition Veteran athletics official G L S Perera heads Technical Officials sub committee www dailymirror lk Retrieved 2021 07 15 Olympian Darsha wins race to become a Sri Lanka Athletics vice presidents Print Edition The Sunday Times Sri Lanka Retrieved 2021 07 15 Did not start in the final External links editDamayanthi Dharsha at World Athletics nbsp Damayanthi Dharsha at Olympedia nbsp Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title Damayanthi Dharsha amp oldid 1219814707, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,
