The curious case of Mellony Wijesinghe
A few days after returning from the Asian Youth Netball Championship in Japan, Mellony Wijesinghe complained of a shoulder pain. Her family thought it may have been from the heavy workload she carried at the meet.
Pic courtesy thePapare.com
The pain was in the right shoulder, her throwing hand. So they decided to consult Dr. Eliyantha White, a spiritual healer who has treated several sportsmen and women successfully, including Lasith Malinga.
It worked. Within days, the pain disappeared. But they noticed a difference in the complexion of her eyes. Despite this, she continued to train ahead of the All Island School Netball Championship.
“We never thought it was such a serious illness,” said her grieving mother Chandrika Amaradasa.
While competing in Kurunegala, she fell and was rushed to the Kurunegala hospital. Medical tests revealed that her red blood cells had dropped drastically. Mellony was immediately transferred to the National Hospital in Colombo for further treatment.
“A number of tests were done thereafter, but all those reports showed no reason to panic,” said her devastated father Dhammika Nishantha, a retired army officer.
“We sent blood samples to India and South Africa but every report gave a negative result for leukemia, which is what the doctors were suspecting.”
But on October 20, Mellony Wijesingha, one of netball’s brightest stars, died of Acute Myeloid Leukaemia (AML), a cancer of the myeloid line of blood cells. Thus ended her short stay on earth at the Apeksha Hospital in Maharagama.
“She never thought she had leukaemia and we could not believe it either as she was so active,” her mother says. “We don’t know how she got such an illness. Even though she was tough, she was devastated towards the end, trying to come to terms with the tragedy that has stuck her life.”
Not only was it a great loss for the family but for the country, given the potential the 6.3-foot shooter showed during her short but impressive career. She was the highest scorer at her last international competition and, had it not been for her tragic death, she would have led the Sri Lanka youth team next year.
“She was such a wonderful player and the main reason we ended up in third place at the Asian Youth Championships,” said Sri Lanka Junior Coach Kumari Gamage. “She never showed any signs of discomfort during the meet and her demise was a shock.”
Mellony, 17, was at her brilliant best at the 11th Youth Netball Championships worked off in Japan in June this year with a 91 percent shooting accuracy. Sri Lanka became third behind only Singapore and Malaysia. As Vice Captain, she scored 106 goals in 116 attempts, becoming the Best Shooter at the 11th edition of the championships.
“Mellony was an incredible player, fully fit and courageous,” Gamage said. “She was so active. Had she been alive, she would have gone on to play in the senior team. Such was her brilliance.”
Mellony was capable of handling the ball a long time in her hand, vital for this sport. Her remarkable talent is better than Tharijini Sivalingam, the current national player, on whom Sri Lanka depends heavily as the tallest national player.
“Mellony would definitely have captained the Sri Lanka junior team in the 2021 Youth World Cup,” said Gamage. “She was knocking the doors of the national team as a shooter even at the age of 17.”
Mellony’s netball career took a huge turn after her father took her seven years ago to meet Hyacith Wijesingha, the current Director High Performance of the Netball Federation of Sri Lanka.
“She came to me as a ten-year-old young kid,” Wijesingha said. “She was 5’8” then.
“I knew what she is capable of and we carefully groomed her to be a top shooter in the country. She was such a beautiful soul.” Mellony received a scholarship to join Visakha Vidyalaya from Vihara Maha Devi Balika Vidyalaya, Kiribathgoda. She was there till her death.
Mellony maintained a healthy balance between sport and studies. She obtained seven As and two Bs at GCE Ordinary Level examination and was dreaming of becoming a doctor as she was doing her Advance Level in the bioscience stream.
“We must thank all those who were behind her right through this tragedy, specially the Principal and the staff of Visakha College,” her father said.
“They were a tower of strength for her and for us.”