Gihani Wathsala, a talented wushu athlete from Elpitiya
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Gihani Wathsala receiving one of her many awards from the incumbent President of Sri Lanka Wushu Federation, Manel Dharmakeerthi
Gihani Wathsala, 21, is a gifted wushu athlete, who has been prospering since the age of five. Wathsala, who represented her school — Denzil Kobbekaduwa Vidyalaya in Elpitiya, Galle, has made her institution proud by winning many medals since her competition debut as a kid.
Appearing for her school as a youngster, Wathsala won a Provincial competition in the Under-12 age category in Changquan Elementary. She competed for her school until 2011 at minor events, while also representing 100m and 200m sprints at Under-13 and Under-15 age categories.
Training under S. Ramanika, she excelled in track events at her school’s Inter-House Athletic and Sports Meets, before representing Denzil Kobbekaduwa Vidyalaya at District and Provincial stages.
However, her main interest remained as wushu, through which Wathsala achieved many feat later on her career. She went on to win many titles in Changquan at the top level, and later went on to also record wins in Jianshu and Quiangshu styles. By 2015, Wathsala had become a competent wushu athlete at national level.
She went on to grab more wins at top level including three consecutive titles from 2017 at national level. In 2019 she won titles in all three styles — Changquan, Jianshu and Quiangshu. The same year, Wathsala was selected to represent Sri Lanka at the South Asian Games held in Kathmandu, Nepal, where she achieved a second position in Changquan.
After her achievement at regional level, Wathsala joined Sri Lanka Navy, straight from school and went on to represent the country at Asian and World Championships. Wathsala is indebted to her coach Jeevan Maduranga and the Uragasmanhandiya Wushu Training Centre, where she trained as a kid, for helping her achieve many feats in life.