Tharushi: Following in the footsteps of Asian Games legends

by Reemus Fernando

Asian Games medallist Tharushi Karunaratne is following in the footsteps of some Sri Lankan legends who stole the limelight at the Asian Games while pursuing university education in the US. The 19-year-old who represented Sri Lanka at the Paris Olympics was scheduled to leave for the US on Saturday (31)  to follow a management degree at the Tulane University, Louisiana which had offered her a full scholarship. Will she replicate the legendary achievements of the likes of S.L.B. Rosa and the late Nagalingam Ethirveerasingam or will she fade into the oblivion like many who disappeared from the sporting radar after commencing higher education in the US?

Hailing from a not so well to do family and after encountering numerous obstacles which would have otherwise forced her to give up sports prematurely, Tharushi has accomplished targets many top level athletes had dreamt of achieving for decades. Her predecessors, Gayanthika Abeyratne and Nimali Liyanarachchi had toiled hard for nearly two decades before they came closer to breaking Sriyani Dammika Menike’s 1992 national record. The Sooriyawewa duo had won Sri Lanka honours at regional level in the 800 metres but Asian Games medals kept eluding them.  Susantha Fernando transformed Tharushi from a mere schools games record holder to a near sub two minute athlete and an Asian Games gold medallist while she was still in her teens.

The gold medal has transformed Tharushi and her family as the financial rewards that came her way has helped her take independent decisions. Whether it will work for her or not in the sports front she is going to a university of her choice and the scholarship she has received will enable her to concentrate on her education fully. When current national high jump record holder Ushan Thivanka went to the US for higher education he had to work extra hours to pay for his education and to support his parents.

Of the Sri Lankan athletes who sought higher education opportunities in the US, Olympians Ethirveerasingam, Rosa and Manjula Kumara stand out as they continued to represent Sri Lanka at international events while pursuing higher education. Ethirveerasingam and Rosa went on to win Asian Games medals while pursuing education in the US. Thivanka improved the national record to South Asian regional record heights but has not represented Sri Lanka for years now. Thrower Charith Kapukotuwa too went on to break national records while studying in the US though he did not get opportunities to represent Sri Lanka.

Asian Junior Championship (2012) medalist Supun Viraj Randeniya was one of the brightest prospects to emerge. The former Ranabima Royal athlete did well in his first couple of years in the US. But the athlete whom many enthusiasts predicted would one day break Mahesh Perera’s national record never represented Sri Lanka thereafter.

High jumper Poornima Gunarathna was the last Sri Lankan (top level) female athlete to seek higher education in the US. She had a personal best of 1.80 metres (2018) before she went to the US. Her last (World Athletics) recorded performance is a mediocre 1.60m (2022). Like Gunarathna, there had been many others who had shown a lot of promise in their teenage years but had either given up on sports or had failed to strike a balance between sports and education in the ‘land of opportunities’.

Tharushi earned Sri Lanka its first Asian Games gold medal in track and field in decades. Will she go on to win more accolades or will the Ratnayake Central athlete be remembered only for her heroics in China?