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 27th September 1998 |
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Sriyani back at home with a Silver in the Commonwealth Games, saysI could have won the GoldBy Tharuka DissanaikeSriyani still kicks herself for starting late. If only she had taken off with the same burst of speed displayed at the heats the day before. "I was fifth in reaction time," she says a trifle forlornly. That means she took off fifth from the starting line. In a sport where every millisecond counts, that delay probably cost Sriyani the Gold at her pet event the 100 metre hurdles final at the Kuala Lumpur Commonwealth Games last Monday. Then her face breaks into smiles.
At 28, she won the singular honour of being the first Sri Lankan woman to win a medal at the Commonwealth Games. Sriyani clearly remembers the sinking feeling as she saw others hurdling ahead of her. Then, she said, she decided that she would somehow run faster and make up for the earlier loss. "I asked myself, "what is the use of years of training and all your hard work if you give up now?" And it paid off. At the last two hurdles she managed to fly past competition and complete the run in second place. Her timing at the final was .01 of a second later than her heat time-12.94 seconds Why was she being called "Mohotti" by the commentators? Sriyani shakes her head. Her full name is Mohottiarchchige Sriyani Kulawansa Fonseka. After marriage she goes as M.S.K. Fonseka. "I really don't know. Maybe they found it easier to pronounce." Visibly tired and in need of sleep, Sriyani sat at her Soysapura flat, her husband Chandrasiri by her side, declaring that the week ahead was for "rest and nothing else" She wanted to go 'home' to Melsiripura, Kurunegala where her parents and siblings live for a 'real holiday' but suddenly found herself very much in demand. Various sponsors and the Ministry of Sports organised felicitation functions and Sriyani had to spend her rest week in Moratuwa.
"I knew she would win a medal, when she qualified for the final," Chandrasiri piped in. The morning after her return to the country Sriyani visited Kalutara, her husband's home town and the temple-perhaps to thank the gods for smiling upon her. Does she adhere to a special diet, in addition to what must be strenuous training everyday? Sriyani laughs. "I eat too much if at all," she said looking at Chandrasiri. "I can never skip a meal." But on a more serious note she added that she makes sure she has lots of fruit in her diet. A typical day starts as early as six O' clock for Sriyani and her husband. They leave their tiny flat, crammed full of her trophies, medals and mementos from different games she attended- she to her training which starts at 7 o'clock, he to his job as a Physical Training Instructor at S. Thomas' College, Mt. Lavinia. Sriyani drives herself to work and back. Sriyani and Chandrasiri both joined the national athletic pool in 1991. Chandrasiri was competing in the 800m event when a foot injury and a subsequent operation put him off long distance running. They married in March 1996. In her wedding photographs Sriyani wears her hair shoulder length-long, by her standards. "The very next day she cut it short again," Chandrasiri laughs. Sriyani believes that a woman can compete effectively in athletics until she is around 35 years. She herself has no plans of fading out of the scene right now. "Most women are past 25 when they perform well at hurdles," she said. Her personal best timing was when she was 26. What of the future? "I am definitely attending the Sydney Olympics. After that I will decide what to do with the rest of my life."
The little girl…The little girl who won medals for her high jump in school would never have dreamt of such heights. Sriyani began sports in the Udakandewela Kanishta Vidyalaya at the age of nine. "See how chubby I was at the time," Sriyani giggled at her old black and white photographs. It was when she moved into Ibbagamuwa Central and began participating in national level meets, especially the Mahaweli Games, that Sriyani came into the limelight as a promising young athlete. At 18 she set the national record for high jump. Shortly after that she came to Colombo, joined Hatton National Bank and began training in earnest. Her first international meet was the SAF Games in 1991, where she represented the country in high jump and hurdles. It was around this time too that she first began competing in hurdles. Sriyani has participated in two Olympics, 1992 and 1996, three World Championships and the Asian Games in 1994 where she was placed fourth in hurdles. In 1993 Sriyani struck silver at the Asian Track and Field and gold in the same event in 1995. Her next major event will be the 1998 Asian Games. And then on to the Sydney Olympics in 2000. Sriyani said that it's largely due to the Ministry support that many athletes are now performing so well in the international arena. "There is more opportunity to compete internationally and more financial support for athletes." "In 1992 at the Olympics, I was like a scared rabbit. But now I can compete alongside the world champion and not feel intimidated."
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"Well,
I'm still very happy. Even though I started fifth, I managed to win the
Silver and beat the Canadian who had much better timing than me at the
heats."
Analysing
her performance, Sriyani said that she did not have to face the tension
of high expectations of the public or her coach. "No one told me 'you
have to win.' My coach, Derwin simply said that I should aim for a medal."
On the final day of the Games, Sriyani was popularly slotted into the Bronze
position according to the heat timings.