Darsha - first Lankan woman athlete to win an Asian Games gold

Sampath BANDARA

Damayanthi Darsha is one of the most celebrated athletes in Sri Lankan track and field history.

She was the first Lankan woman athlete to clinch an Asian Games gold medal. Currently she holds three South Asian games records, Two asian Championship records and Two Asian Games Records.

Damayanthi Darsha can be described as the winner of the highest number of medals in our history at the international sports arena, and she established 33 national and international records during her Athletic career.

Golden girl from rural town..

Kombala Withanage Damayanthi Darsha was born in Panadura (her mother's home town) on February 13, 1975 but she grew up in the rural town of Ampara. She started running at a very early age at Bandaranayake Balika Vidyalaya, Ampara after that she was educated at Panadura Balika and Ladies College, Colombo. She was the most outstanding short distance and middle distance runner among schoolgirls at that time.

In 1990, there was remarkable change in Darsha's fortunes when she met veteran coach and Asian Gold Medalist Sunil Gunawardena who spotted this schoolgirl prodigy's hidden talents and trained her to win many medals fro her motherland.

Damayanthi Darsha Clinched the first international gold's in the 100 metres and 4X100 relay event at the South Asian Games held at Colombo on 1991.

In the 100 metres she clocked 11.72 seconds with a new Games record. After two years at the next South Asian Games held in Dhaka, Bangaldesh she bagged two gold medals in the 100 metres and 200 metres.

In the 200 metres she finished the event in 23.84 seconds and set a New Games record and in the same year at the Asian Championships held in Manila Darsha clinched a Silver medal in the 200 metres event (23.29 sec).

In the 1994 Asian Games held in Hiroshima, Japan, She won a Bronze medal in the 200 metres event her first Asian Games Medal.

Golden days...

Golden girl Darsha's golden year was 1998 when she became the first Sri Lankan woman Athlete to win Asian Games Gold Medals Dharsha Clinched two gold medals in the 200m (22.48 sec) and 400m (51.57 sec) events, at the 13th Asian Games held in Bangkok, Thailand.

Sri Lanka won an Asian Games gold medal after 24 years after Teheran asian Games in 1974, when W. Wimaladasa won an individual gold with a New games record in the 400m event and her coach Sunil Gunawardena along with A. Premachandra, Kosala Sahabandu and Wimaladasa won a gold medal with another games record in the 4x400 relay event. After few minutes Sugath Tilekratne clinched a gold medal in the 400 metres event at the 1998 Bangkok games.

Darsha claimed another important gold medal in the 400 metres event at the Asian Championships held in Fukuoka City, Japan in the same year.

She was able to bag another gold medal in the 200 metres event with a new games record (22.84 seconds) at the Asian Championships held in Jakarta in the year 2000.

Dazzles in Nepal

Dharsha camp up with an amazing performance in the South Asian Games held in Kathmandu Nepal in 1999, establishing three new games records in the 100m (11.19), 200m (22.68) and 400m (52.11) obtaining three gold medals - these records are yet to be broken.

Damayanthi Dharsha recorded her last international victory at the 2002 Asian Games held in Busan South Korea.

She bagged one of her most remarkable gold medals in her pet event the 400 metres clocking 51.13 seconds.