Gayanjali Amarawansa

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Gayanjali Amarawansa
Personal information
Born (1995-12-20) 20 December 1995 (age 28)
Height 1.65 m (5 ft 5 in)
Occupation netball player, basketball player, banker
Netball career
Playing position(s): centre, wing attack
Medal record
Representing  Sri Lanka
Asian Netball Championship
Silver medal – second place 2016 Thailand Netball
Gold medal – first place 2018 Singapore Netball
Gold medal – first place 2022 Singapore Netball

Gayanjali Amarawansa (born 20 December 1995) is a Sri Lankan netball player who plays for the national team in the position of centre.[1] She is also currently employed at the Hatton National Bank and also occasionally plays basketball and netball for her bank in domestic competitions.[2]

Biography[edit]

She pursued her primary and secondary education at the Girls High School, Kandy. She was coached by former Sri Lankan cricketer Suwini de Alwis. She has also competed in other sporting disciplines such as gymnastics and athletics at school level.[3]

Career[edit]

She missed out on her first national selection in early 2013 after being diagnosed with dengue.[4] However, she was able to recover from dengue and broke into the national senior team in December 2013.[4]

She was a key member of the Sri Lankan squad which won the 2015 Asian Youth Netball Championship and for her notable performances during the course of the competition she was awarded the Best Wing title.[4][5][6] She was included in the senior squad for the 2016 Asian Netball Championships where Sri Lanka emerged as runners-up.[7][8]

She was also part of the Sri Lankan squad which won the 2018 Asian Netball Championships by defeating Singapore 69-50 in the final, which also ensured Sri Lanka's first Asian Netball Championships triumph since 2009.[9][10]

She was named in the Sri Lankan squad for the 2019 Netball World Cup which also marked her debut appearance in a Netball World Cup tournament.[11][12][13]

She was an integral member of the HNB women's netball team which won the 2021 Super League Netball Championship when HNB defeated Air Force SC 54-37 in the final at the Ratnapura Public Indoor Stadium.[14][15] She was a member of the HNB side which emerged triumphant during the final of the 2022 Women's Mercantile Basketball Tournament.[16]

She was named as the captain of the Sri Lankan netball team for the 2022 Asian Netball Championships which was held in Singapore.[17][18] She captained the Sri Lankan side to a record sixth Asian Netball Championship title when Sri Lanka defeated hosts Singapore 63-53 during the 2022 Asian Netball Championship final.[19][20] Thus, Sri Lanka progressed to the 2023 Netball World Cup in South Africa.

References[edit]

  1. ^ "Gayanjali Amarawansa". Netball Draft Central. Retrieved 2022-11-30.
  2. ^ "Netball's best on the podium". Sunday Observer. 2022-02-05. Retrieved 2022-11-30.
  3. ^ Corr.), (Upananda Jayasundera-Kandy Sports Special. "Sri Lanka netball captain Gayanjali felicitated by GHS". Daily News. Retrieved 2022-11-30.
  4. ^ a b c "Gayanjali Amarawansa: Driving force through the centre court". The Sunday Times Sri Lanka. Retrieved 2022-11-30.
  5. ^ "Youth netballers prove a point | The Sunday Times Sri Lanka". Retrieved 2022-11-30.
  6. ^ Vasudevan, Estelle (2015-11-26). "Sri Lanka Contingent for 9th Asian Youth Netball Championship 2015". ThePapare.com. Retrieved 2022-11-30.
  7. ^ "Three top players from HNB to participate in the Asian Netball Championship | Daily FT". www.ft.lk. Retrieved 2022-11-30.
  8. ^ Vasudevan, Estelle (2018-01-29). "National Netball pool of 30 selected". ThePapare.com. Retrieved 2022-11-30.
  9. ^ "Sri Lanka : Sri Lanka wins Asian Netball Championship after 9 years". www.colombopage.com. Retrieved 2022-11-30.
  10. ^ hermesauto (2018-09-09). "Netball: Sri Lanka prove too strong for Singapore as they triumph 69-50 in Asian Championship final". The Straits Times. Retrieved 2022-11-30.
  11. ^ "Sri Lanka pick netball squad for World Cup". Sunday Observer. 2019-05-18. Retrieved 2022-11-30.
  12. ^ "Sri Lanka". Netball Draft Central. Retrieved 2022-11-30.
  13. ^ "Netball World Cup 2019 unfolds tomorrow: Can Sri Lanka bring back 1963 glory? | Daily FT". www.ft.lk. Retrieved 2022-11-30.
  14. ^ Ratnaweera, Dhammika. "HNB clinch Super League Netball Tourney". Daily News. Retrieved 2022-11-30.
  15. ^ "HNB clinch Super League netball title". Sunday Observer. 2021-04-10. Retrieved 2022-11-30.
  16. ^ Ratnaweera, Dhammika. "HNB clinches women's Mercantile Cager title". Daily News. Retrieved 2022-11-30.
  17. ^ Ratnaweera, Dhammika. "Lanka confident of retaining Asian Netball crown, says Gayanjali". Daily News. Retrieved 2022-11-30.
  18. ^ "Gayanjali to lead Sri Lanka at Asian Netball Tournament". www.dailymirror.lk. Retrieved 2022-11-30.
  19. ^ "'Fathers' cash in after 'orphans' bag Asia Cups". Sunday Observer. 2022-09-17. Retrieved 2022-11-30.
  20. ^ Ratnaweera, Dhammika. "Sri Lankan Netballers in glorious win to retain Asian title". Daily News. Retrieved 2022-11-30.