Darshika Abeywickrama
Darshika Abeywickrama | |
|---|---|
| Born | March 11, 1988 |
| Nationality | Sri Lankan |
| Occupation(s) | Netball player, banker |
| Known for | Sri Lankan national netball team player |
Darshika Abeywickrama (born 11 March 1988) is a prominent Sri Lankan netball athlete who primarily plays as a goal defense or goalkeeper. She is commonly known by the nickname "Bale".
Biography
Dharshika is the third child among six siblings. Her early education was at St. Agnes' Girls School in Balangoda, after which she earned a scholarship to attend Anula Vidyalaya in Nugegoda. Her athletic abilities subsequently secured her admission to Gateway College.
Career
Although Dharshika initially pursued high jump, she shifted her focus to netball inspired by her sister’s involvement. While at Anula Vidyalaya, she became a member of the netball squad and also participated in shot put, discus throw, and javelin events. Beginning in Grade 9, she took up basketball and represented both her school’s under-16 team and the Sri Lanka schools basketball team in 2005.
In 2004, she was invited to attend national netball trials but opted out due to changes within the administration. Later, she declined an invitation to national basketball training to dedicate herself fully to netball. Dharshika resumed netball training in 2008 and earned selection for the national team that competed at the 2009 Asian Netball Championship, where Sri Lanka secured the gold medal.
An injury prevented her participation in the 2011 World Netball Championships; however, she made a comeback to the national squad in 2013. She contributed to teams that finished as runners-up in the Asian Netball Championships of 2014 and 2016. Dharshika made her debut at the 2015 Netball World Cup where Sri Lanka placed sixteenth. She held the position of vice captain during Sri Lanka’s triumphant campaign at the 2018 Asian Netball Championship—their first championship win since 2009. Additionally, she competed in the 2019 Netball World Cup, with the team finishing fifteenth.
Parallel to her sporting career, Dharshika has been employed as a banker since joining Hatton National Bank (HNB) in 2010, capitalizing on her achievements in netball. She leads HNB’s netball team as captain, guiding them to championships in the 2018 Dialog National Netball Championship and the 2021 Super League Netball Championship. Dharshika holds a Bachelor's degree in Business Management.