This week people across the world will celebrate the social, economic, cultural and political achievements of women on International Women’s Day which is celebrated on 8th of March.
Last year, Colombo Times published a feature in lieu of International Women’s Day under the theme a celebration of grace, courage, strength and perseverance, highlighting women in different fields who have made a difference and were paving the way for the female achievers of the future.
This year, the United Nations (UN) has announced the theme for the International Women’s Day(IWD 2022) as, “Gender equality today for a sustainable tomorrow”, recognizing the contribution of women and girls around the world, who are leading the charge on climate change adaptation, mitigation, and response, to build a more sustainable future for all.
The International Women’s Day website has announced that this year’s theme is #BreakTheBias. The organization is calling on people to “imagine a gender equal world” which is free of biases, stereotypes and discrimination against women.
While different themes are being used to celebrate women, women still face challenges in variety of aspects, and they overcome such challenges on a daily basis. Women are breaking boundaries and reaching the pinnacle in all sectors.
An image that was titled as one of the strongest portray of a woman in recent times was a picture of Pakistan Women’s cricket skipper Bismah Maroof carrying her 6 month old daughter and entering the stadium for the match against India at ICC Women’s World Cup 2022.
The picture went viral in social media and Bismah was lauded by her fans for her dedication towards the game and her family. Bismah returned to the field six months after giving birth to her daughter Fatimah.
Bismah depicts the inherent strength of a women to return to the sport that she loves while carrying the most important bundle of joy in her hand.
This year, Colombo Times will focus on Sri Lankan Women in sports who have defied all odds to bring glory to the country. They may have overcome many issues discrimination, gender bias, society bias however these women will always be remembered for the glory they brought to Mother Lanka. Let us celebrate these women in sports by reminiscing records and achievements held by Sri Lankan sports women at International Level.
Deshabandu Susanthika Jayasinghe
She became the second Sri Lankan to win an Olympic medal after Duncan White when she won the Olympic silver medal for the 200m event in the Summer Olympics 2000 held in Sydney, Australia. Her silver medal achievement at the 2000 Sydney Olympics also stood as the only Olympic medal for a South Asian in athletics event for 21 years before Neeraj Chopra’s gold medal achievement at the 2020 Summer Olympics.
She rose to prominence at the age of 18 after claiming a gold in 200m and a silver in 100m events during the Asian Junior Championships in 1994. In addition to the Olympic silver medal, she has received medals and accolades at the Asian Championship, world athletic meets. Her last bronze medal was in 2007 at the World Championship held in Japan. She was ranked by the IAAF as 18th in the world for the 100 m sprint and 20th in the world for the 200 m sprint.
She was conferred with the prestigious Deshabandu title during the year 2017.
Damayanthi Dharsha
She is a retired Sri Lankan athlete who competed in the 200 and 400 metres race events
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.
Dharsha 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 (in 1998 for 400m and 200m 2 in and in 2002 in Busan for 400m).
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.
Tharjani Sivalingham
Tharjini Sivalingam is a former Sri Lankan veteran netball player and former skipper of the Sri Lankan national netball team. she has been one of the most successful shooters of all time and often regarded as the tallest netball player ever at a staggering height of (6ft 10.5in).
During the 2019 Netball World Cup, Tharjani made her 100th international appearance for Sri Lanka and becoming the first Sri Lankan to do so. She was the tournament’s top-scorer with 348 goals in 375 attempts (scored in seven matches). She was also the oldest player to play in the history of the Netball World Cup at the age of 40. Post the tournament she retired at the age of 40.
She played a key role in winning the 2018 Asian Netball Championships being the unbeaten team in the tournament defeating Singapore in the final to make it a fifth Asian Championship title for Sri Lanka and their first title since 2009. During the 2018 Asian Championships, Tharjini received the Player of the tournament award for her outstanding performance.
Nelka Shiromala
Nelka Shiromala is a Sri Lankan police officer, boxing referee and former national boxer. Nelka is widely regarded as the first Sri Lankan female boxing referee. She has officiated in several local and international boxing matches as referee. She was also selected by the International Olympic Committee as one of the referees for the boxing competition at the 2020 Summer Olympics.
She became the first Sri Lankan female police boxer and she also became the first Sri Lankan woman police officer to compete in international boxing competitions.
She received the Best Referee Award in 2017 from the Asian Boxing Confederation and became the first woman to receive the award. She was also selected to officiate at the 2018 Commonwealth Games and 2019 AIBA World Boxing Championships.
She officiated in few matches of the 2020 Tokyo Olympics and became the first Sri Lankan female boxing referee to officiate at the Olympics. She officiated in the men’s light heavyweight final and women’s lightweight final of the 2020 Summer Olympics.
Chamari Athapaththu
Chamari Athapaththu is a Sri Lankan cricketer hailing from Kurunegala and the current captain of the women’s Twenty20 International team of Sri Lanka. She is also the only Sri Lankan woman cricketer to score an ODI century, and she done this five times in her career. She scored her maiden ODI century in 2011 against Ireland. She holds the record for scoring the most number of ODI centuries and fifties for Sri Lanka in women’s cricket. She also holds the record for the highest WODI score for Sri Lanka, with 178 not out. She has the highest ODI average for Sri Lanka in women’s cricket.
Chamari Atapattu is the first and only Sri Lankan woman cricketer to score a century in Women’s Cricket World Cup. Atapattu is the first Sri Lankan batswoman to pass 1,000 runs in T20Is and she is also the leading run scorer for Sri Lanka in both ODIs and T20Is. Chamari is the first Sri Lankan woman to play in the Women’s BBL franchise.
Please watch out for more achievements in the next segment.
