Chathurangi Jayasooriya and the National Netball Team: Defending from the front
At just 28 years old, Chathurangi has played 43 international matches for Sri Lanka and is determined to play her part in the Sri Lankan Netball Team come July.
From growing up in Kelaniya to captaining the National Netball Team, Chathu’s story is full of inspiration, determination, and a will to keep achieving. The caring older sister to two siblings, she attended Sri Dharmaloka Central College in Kelaniya where she excelled at both sports and studies. This pleased her parents. In Chathu’s words, “they were both balanced and thoroughly supported all of schooling activities.”
Her first sport was athletics. She was a national level medalist at high jump, long jump, and triple jump, and she has continued with these sports throughout most of her career. A “love for netball” however saw her courageously switch sports at the age of 19, don the Goal Defence bib, and become one of the best GDs Sri Lanka has ever produced. Alongside her sporting achievements, she recorded 7As and 3Bs at her O/L, and 1A, 1B, and 1C at her A/L in the Commerce stream.
Listening to Chathu recount highlights of her career, it is immediately apparent that her strong support structure comes from her family.
In 2009, she was selected for the squad for the Asian Youth Netball Championship, which was to be held the following year, and from this point on she has been a dominant force on the National Netball scene. Some highlights include playing in the National team in the 2011 World Cup, and in the 2012 and 2014 Asian Championships where the team were runners up. Alongside her netball career, she has balanced studies, earning a B.Sc Aviation Degree from the Kothalawala Defence University, and in 2015, becoming a Commissioned Officer in the Airforce.
Making the most of every opportunity – she is self-motivated, focused, determined, and seeks continued improvement. Her nickname, ‘Unanduwaa’, is just a hint of this. She does however enjoy unwinding, often by listening to music, and is a particular fan of Clarence Wijewardena and Milton Mallawarachchi.
Her career highlights include a litany of international tournaments. Most recently, in 2018, she was appointed captain in the team that won the Asian Netball Championship. She is very proud of this success, because the team “proved themselves and achieved this through both hard-work and team-work”, and it was particularly important as doing so qualified the Sri Lankan Netball Team for the World Netball Championship to be held this July in England.
She views her strengths as a player as stemming from her “jump, endurance, and anticipation” – she loves defending, and particularly defending Tharjini Sivalingam’s high pass (the team’s Goal Shooter with a very high pass!). Her dedication to training also provides her with a sound message to any youngsters: “Believe in yourself, commit 100% at training, and you will have the best base to build your career.”