Damayanthi Dharsha

Damayanthi Dharsha

Personal information
Native name	දමයන්ති දර්ශා
Full name	Damayanthi Dharsha-Kobalavithanage
Nationality	Sri Lankan
Born	February 13, 1975
Sport
Country	Sri Lanka
Sport	Track and field
Event(s)	Sprint
Retired	July 2007
Achievements and titles
Personal best(s)	200 m: 22.48[1] December 18, 1998 (Bangkok, Thailand) 400 m: 51.50 August 30, 2000 (Jakarta, Indonesia)
Medal record Women's athletics Competitor for  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 m
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 team-mate 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
			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
2000	Asian Championships	Jakarta, Indonesia	1st	200 m	22.84
			1st	400 m	51.05
	Olympic Games	Sydney, Australia	23rd (qf)	400 m	51.13
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
			19th (sf)	4x400 m relay	51.83
2002	Commonwealth Games	Manchester, United Kingdom	14th (sf)	200 m	24.18
			22nd (sf)	400 m	53.91
			8th (h)	4x100 m relay	43.89
	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[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

• Damayanthi Dharsha profile at IAAF

1. "Personal Best". International Association of Athletics. Retrieved 10 November 2015.
2. The Hindu Sportstar Weekly, July 7, 2007: "Darsha calls it a day"
3. Did not start in the final.