Gayanjali Amarawansa
Gayanjali Amarawansa | |
|---|---|
| Born | December 20, 1995 |
| Occupation(s) | Netball player, banker |
| Known for | Sri Lanka national netball team centre, captain of 2022 Asian Netball Championships winning team |
Gayanjali Amarawansa (born 20 December 1995) is a prominent netball athlete from Sri Lanka who plays as a centre for the national team. In addition to her sports career, she works at Hatton National Bank (HNB), where she also participates in local basketball and netball tournaments.
Biography
Amarawansa attended Girls High School, Kandy, receiving coaching from former Sri Lankan cricketer Suwini de Alwis. During her school years, she was active in gymnastics and athletics alongside netball.
Career
Although she was initially overlooked for the national team in 2013 due to contracting dengue fever, Amarawansa secured a position on the senior national squad by the end of that year. She played an instrumental role in Sri Lanka's triumph at the 2015 Asian Youth Netball Championship, where she was honored as the Best Wing. She also competed in the senior team that claimed second place at the 2016 Asian Netball Championships.
Amarawansa was a key contributor to Sri Lanka’s victory in the 2018 Asian Netball Championship, marking their first championship win since 2009, with a decisive 69–50 win over Singapore in the final. She participated in her first Netball World Cup in 2019.
At the domestic level, Amarawansa aided HNB in winning the 2021 Super League Netball Championship and was a member of their successful squad during the 2022 Women's Mercantile Basketball Tournament.
Selected as captain for the 2022 Asian Netball Championships held in Singapore, she led Sri Lanka to secure a record sixth championship title by defeating the host nation 63-53. This accomplishment earned Sri Lanka qualification for the 2023 Netball World Cup in South Africa.