Sri Lanka is a reserve of talented track and field athletes. One such polished gem that has emerged through this crowd is Hashini Prabodha Balasooriya of the University of Sri Jayewardenepura, whose expertise lies upon triple jump. She is an exceptional athlete who has managed to embellish mother Sri Lanka with numerous international accolades. They include third place in the 2018 Asian Games, first place in Kyrgyz Open Championship and representing Sri Lanka in the World University Games. The most recent of her international achievements is the 2019 South Asian Games, where she triumphed in winning the gold medal for triple jump. Not only that, but she proved herself to be a record-breaker too as she set a new record in triple jump at 2019 Sri Lanka University Games. We thought it would be best to bring forth her journey from school-time sporting to international athletics in her own words.
1. How were you first introduced to the world of sports?
My first step into sports was when I was 14 years old, during the time I was studying at Lunuwila Anuruddha Central College. Ironically, my first interest was netball, and not track and field events. However, this one time, I received an opportunity to represent my school in a zonal sports meet as a member of the relay team. That was when I first participated in a track and field event. Afterward, I decided to continue my sports journey in that path, as a runner.
2. What made you particularly choose triple jump?
As I continued my practices in running, our school coach suggested randomly that I should try triple jump, just for a change. I tried triple jump and soon, thereafter, I realized that triple jump was my forte. What pushed my interest into it was the fact that I won at the very first all-island sports meet I participated after choosing triple jump. Since then I’ve focused my time and strength on it to improve and better myself.
4. What is the most outstanding achievement so far in your sporting career?
My most outstanding achievement in my sports career was winning the gold medal at the South Asian Games (SAG) last December. I was not selected for the Sri Lankan squad the first time. They first made the selections based on year-round performances, and because I was busy with my university studies, I couldn’t reach my potential best that year. But I appealed the decision. The fact that I was ranked 5th in South Asia at the time in triple jump was what got me the chance to represent Sri Lanka at the SAG. Both my coaches, Mr. Louis Miranda and Mr. Nayana Prasad, motivated me to strive for the best and triumph. After all, I was not doing this just for myself, I was doing it for my country too. In the end, I overcame all the odds and won the gold medal. The distance I managed to achieve was 13.21 meters, but, actually, I felt as if I could have done more because my personal best was 13.40 meters. But above all, this victory holds a special place in my heart because I was successful in proving that I was worth the chance I was given to make the squad.
5. What is the achievement you dream to conquer one day?
My dream, of course, is to represent Sri Lanka in the Olympics one day. I invest all my energy and time to make this a reality one day.
6. What sort of challenges did you come across in your sports career? How did you overcome them?
The first and foremost challenge I encountered was the necessity to balance my academics and my sports career. But I have never thought of it as an obstacle in my life. I always regarded this as another aspect that strengthened me mentally, and prepared me better for other challenges that I might come across.
Another challenge that not only me but my fellow athletes too faced was the lack of facilities to practice. We didn’t have enough equipment that was sufficient for all the athletes and sometimes we had to go for makeshift equipment as well. Moreover, I had to continue my practices in Colombo and consequently, I had to live away from home from a very early age than a girl usually would. There were times where I was home only once or twice a month. It was not easy at first, but eventually, I got adapted to it.
7. Do you think there is a reluctance among women and girls to join sports, especially at the university? If yes, what do you think is the reason?
Yes, I do believe that there is an obvious reluctancy among the girls in universities. I currently follow a Sports Science degree at the University of Jayawardanepura, and most of my batchmates are ones who have actively engaged in sports during their school time. But even with them, there’s a huge reluctancy to continue any sport at the university. I believe it’s something to do with their attitude regarding sports, as they believe that they are done achieving what they need in their field, and they stop striving for more. I, personally, don’t believe that. I think that we should always be yearning to do more in that particular area which we know we’re good at.
When we consider the general crowd, the main reason is the typical fear of the clash between academics and extra-curricular activities. Most of the girls fear that they won’t be able to balance it out, and that doing a sport might have a negative effect on their academic life. This is nothing to fear, to be honest. All you need is the passion that would drive you indifferently through thick and thin.
8. Is there anything that you think should be changed in university sports and how it operates to encourage more women to involve in sports?
Something major that I believe would help to increase the involvement of girls is the allocation of a time period specifically for sports. At the university, most of the time, the undergraduates are stuck in the lecture halls from 8 to 5 and ultimately, they don’t have any time left to engage in something else. I myself have personally faced this issue as I have practices in the morning, and I miss out on quite a lot of the lectures because of that. If the lectures started later, maybe at about 9.00 a.m, then girls, boys too, would have enough time to practice and come for lectures, as it’s usually hard to practice track and field events during night time.
9. What is your message to female university students who aspire to join sports or those who are reluctant to join sports?
I think everyone should do a sport. It’s an astounding counterpart to your academic achievements, and would definitely help improve your personality. If you manage to balance both academics and sports, one day you will be able to look back and be satisfied that you had both the emotional and physical compatibility to achieve such a feat. It’s obvious that there is a clear difference between the ones that corner themselves only to academics and the ones that participate in both equally. Not only that, engaging in a sport helps a person to step into society with integrity and grace. I believe that including sports into one’s university life is worth doing. If not, you will be missing out on a lot of things than you’d have thought of.
Hashini is an awe-inspiring athlete and we hope that her story and her words of wisdom would spark enthusiasm and motivation within everyone who reads her story. She is another upcoming idol in this dainty island that anyone, but especially girls can look up to for inspiration. With this we wish Hashini all the best in her future endeavors and we hope that she would be able to make our motherland proud again.
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