Damayanthi Dharsha

Damayanthi Dharsha
Personal information
Native name	දමයන්ති දර්ශා
Full name	Damayanthi Dharsha-Kobalavithanage
Nationality	Sri Lankan
Born	February 13, 1975 (age 49)
Sport
Country	Sri Lanka
Sport	Track and field
Event	Sprint
Retired	2007
Achievements and titles
Personal best(s)	200 m: 22.48 (Bangkok 1998); 400 m: 51.05 (Jakarta 2000)
Medal record
Women's athletics
Representing Sri Lanka
Asian Games
Asian Championships
	Updated on 10 November 2015

Damayanthi Dharsha-Kobalavithanage (born 13 February 1975) is a retired Sri Lankan athlete who competed in the 200 and 400 metres race.

Dharsha made an initial impact at just 16 years when she won the 100 metres gold medal at the Colombo SAF Games in 1991 with a new record. She broke into the limelight by winning the 100 metre gold at the Asian Junior Championships the same year.

In 1994, she won the bronze in the 200 metres behind Chinese Taipei’s Wang Huei-Chen and teammate Susanthika Jayasinghe at the Asian Games in Hiroshima. That was the beginning of a dominant period for Sri Lanka in women’s sprinting with Jayasinghe and Darsha seriously challenging the Chinese.

In July 2007, Dharsha announced her retirement from athletic competition.^[2]

International competitions

Year	Competition	Venue	Position	Event	Notes
Representing Sri Lanka
1992	Olympic Games	Barcelona, Spain	38th (h)	100 m	11.88
1992	Olympic Games	Barcelona, Spain	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
1995	World Championships	Edmonton, Canada	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
1999	World Championships	Seville, Spain	31st (qf)	200 m	53.33
2000	Asian Championships	Jakarta, Indonesia	1st	200 m	22.84
	Asian Championships	Jakarta, Indonesia	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
	World Indoor Championships	Lisbon, Portugal	–	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
2003	Asian Championships	Manila, Philippines	3rd (h)	200 m	24.13^[3]
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	24.22

References

^ "Personal Best". International Association of Athletics. Retrieved 10 November 2015.
^ "The Hindu Sportstar Weekly, July 7, 2007: "Darsha calls it a day"". Archived from the original on February 6, 2010. Retrieved December 10, 2009.
^ Did not start in the final.

External links

Damayanthi Dharsha at World Athletics

[1] "Personal Best". International Association of Athletics. Retrieved 10 November 2015.

[2] "The Hindu Sportstar Weekly, July 7, 2007: "Darsha calls it a day"". Archived from the original on February 6, 2010. Retrieved December 10, 2009.

[3] Did not start in the final.

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