Fencing twin sisters eye Olympics after achieving summit in Nepal
Chamodi (left) and Chathuni with their medals at the SAG
Fencing may be a relatively new sport in Sri Lanka but teenage twin sisters Chathuni and Chamodi Karunaratne have set their sights on creating history at the Olympics.
It is no idle dream for these two Princess of Wales College, Moratuwa students who proved they are capable of climbing the summit by achieving excellent results at the G.C.E. (O/L) exam while representing Sri Lanka at the 13th South Asian Games (SAG) in Nepal in December.
Both of them clinched bronze medals in Kathmandu where fencing was introduced for the first time with Chathuni competing in the epee event while Chamodi took part in the sabre category.
“We managed it with the help of our family, school and friends. In Nepal we had events only on two days but we had Maths and Science on those days. First we did the event and then we faced the exam, finishing our paper at 11.30 in the night,” recalled Chathuni Bagya, elder of the two bespectacled twins by one minute.
She came out with flying colours getting nine As in the G.C.E. (O/L).
“We have a dream of participating in Olympics,” said Chathuni with quiet conviction as she related how they got hooked onto the sport six years ago as they trained at Unichela gymnasium of MAS Holdings in Panadura.
“We got to know there is a sport like fencing. It’s something like fighting with swords. Our parents encouraged us. We found it interesting,” said Chathuni.
“We normally train four times a week but when we were in the national pool for SAG, we had to train morning and evening,” she added as they came under the wing of national coaches Asiri Wijesinghe and Gayan Bandara.
The difficulties they face in fencing are not related to technique but acquiring equipment and accessories for the sport.
“They are expensive and you cannot find them in Sri Lanka,” said Chathuni fortunate to get it since her father is in the United States.
Her twin sibling Chamodi Prathiba, not to be outdone, just missed out on getting nine As in the O/Ls.
“I expected an ‘A’ for Maths and a ‘B’ for Science but I got ‘B’ for Maths and an ‘A’ for Science. I don’t know why I got a ‘B’. I have applied for a recorrection,” she said with a slight hint of disappointment.
“We were actually happy with the bronze medal. We never expected to win a medal because we did not have any idea about the competition. We are happy with the achievement with the limited facilities. We are hoping to go for the Olympics. We have to dedicate more and practice more,” reiterated Chamodi.
It was the first international competition for the 16-year-olds who are the top juniors in the sport.
On competing while sitting for the exam in Nepal she said: “It was really hard but with the help of everyone we managed everything. Actually, we had to dedicate a lot unlike other students. We studied the whole night, sometimes sleeping for just two hours. At 6.00 in the morning we had practices and then went to school at 8.30. After school, we had classes and then practices. At home we just had dinner and studied till late in the night.”
Asked what attracted them to fencing, she said: “We were very small when we heard that there is a sport called fencing. It was a new sport. That’s why we were interested. We were the youngest fencers. All the others were elder to us but they loved us and were very kind to us.”
Talking about the technical challenges on the different events in fencing, Chathuni who focuses on epee said it was all about rhythm and coordination.
“It requires quick footwork and hands as well but mainly rhythm. Coordination and rhythm. We won against Pakistan and Nepal but lost to India in the semi-finals. They had superb technique,” said Chathuni who was adjudged best junior female fencer of the year for three consecutive years in 2016, 2017 and 2018.
She also won silver medals at the Nationals in the epee event in 2017 and 2018.
“In epee you have to hit using a blade of 750gm I think. In sabre a smooth touch is enough to get points. In epee it is difficult to hit and there is a low percentage to get hit too. In sabre there are ways to get more points,” articulated Chamodi, who was adjudged best junior female fencer of the year in 2019. She won the bronze medal at the National championships in sabre for the last four years.