Sri Lanka’s women’s cricket is on the rise. Only a week ago, they clinched their maiden Women’s Asia Cup title, defeating India in the final. A champion athlete has been steadily contributing to the success.
This is Olympics time, but Susanthika Jayasinghe is quietly working for the development of women’s cricket in Sri Lanka. A trailblazer in her field, Susanthika won silver in the 200m sprint at the 2000 Sydney Olympics. Before that, she won silver at the World Championships in Athens in 1997. Last year, Sri Lanka Cricket (SLC) roped her in as a consultant to promote women’s cricket in the country. According to an SLC official, the 48-year-old is doing serious legwork.
“Her role is basically about mentoring and inspiring women cricketers in different age groups,” the official told RevSportz. “But she is not restricting herself to coming to the High Performance Centre only. Susanthika is going to different districts to interact with the budding cricketers. She has taken the job very seriously.”
Is she involved with the senior team also? “Not really,” said the official. “She basically is in touch with the supply line.”
Susanthika is a celebrity in her own right, but she rose from humble beginnings. She came from a village on the outskirts of Colombo and took the athletics world by storm. When she won silver at the World Championships, it was Sri Lanka’s first-ever medal in the competition. When she won silver at the Sydney Games, it was the first time an Asian woman had a podium finish in a sprint competition.
The 1980s saw the rise of women athletes in Asia in sprint events. PT Usha was at the forefront, almost untouchable on the continent in the 200m, 400m and 400m hurdles. In the 100m, however, she had stiff competition from Philippines’ sprint queen Lydia de Vega. Together, they formed a great rivalry.
Susanthika continued the legacy as far as Asian athletics was concerned. In fact, she reached greater heights. “Never give up” has always been her mantra, and she is now passing that to the upcoming women cricketers in Sri Lanka.