Sarangi Silva

Lakshini Silva
Born	Lakshini Sarangi Silva Sandaradura (1996-10-27) October 27, 1996 Panadura, Sri Lanka
Occupation(s)	Athlete, Banker
Years active	2012–present
Known for	National women's long jump record holder of Sri Lanka

Lakshini Sarangi Silva Sandaradura (; born 27 October 1996), who is also referred to as Sarangi de Silva, is a Sri Lankan athlete specializing in the long jump discipline within track and field. Alongside her athletic career, she works professionally as a banker at Seylan Bank. Silva currently holds the national women's long jump record in Sri Lanka, achieving a personal best distance of 6.65 meters.

Biography

Her foundational education took place at Sri Sumangala College in Panadura, where she completed both primary and secondary levels. Coming from a family with a military background—her father served as an army officer—and a brother employed as a quantity surveyor, she developed an early interest in sports during her school years. Following her Advanced Level examinations, she volunteered with the Sri Lanka Army. Academically, she advanced her studies by enrolling in a Higher National Diploma program focused on Business Management at the ICBT Campus.

Career

At the age of 16, Silva achieved fifth place in the long jump event at the 2012 Asian Junior Athletics Meet. Despite encountering an injury in 2014, she participated in the Asian Junior Championship that year and emerged as the leading under-20 long jump athlete at the 84th John Tarbat Senior Athletic Championships. After taking a break from athletics to prepare for her GCE Advanced Level exams in 2015, she made a successful return by earning a bronze medal in the women's long jump at the 2016 South Asian Games—marking her first podium finish at that competition tier.

In 2017, Silva secured gold medals in both the women's 100 meters sprint and long jump events during the Brunei Open Athletics Meet. She continued to demonstrate her prowess by winning bronze in long jump at the 2019 Thailand Open. At the same year’s South Asian Games, she claimed gold with a leap of 6.38 meters in the women's long jump and also contributed to Sri Lanka's victory in the 4 × 100 meter relay event. Additionally, she placed fourth in long jump at the 2019 Military World Games. Although chosen for the 2020 Asian Indoor Athletics Championships—which were eventually cancelled—she went on to break the national long jump record twice: first with a 6.44-meter jump in Turkey during 2021, followed by an improved mark of 6.65 meters at the 2022 National Athletic Trials.

In recognition of her athletic potential, Silva was awarded a special sports scholarship by the National Olympic Committee of Sri Lanka in 2021 to facilitate training opportunities in Qatar. She won gold at the Athletic Ageneve Meeting held in Geneva in 2022 and retained her national championship title in women's long jump at the centennial National Athletic Championships, which acted as selection trials for both the 2022 Commonwealth Games and 2022 Asian Games.

Following several withdrawals from Sri Lanka’s squad for the 2022 World Athletics Championships, Silva was named to represent her country but later opted out to concentrate on preparing for the Commonwealth Games. Her training regimen included additional sessions in Turkey and Poland. At the Commonwealth Games, she became the first Sri Lankan female long jumper to advance to the final round, ultimately finishing thirteenth with a best effort of 6.07 meters.

In May 2023, Silva took part in Japan’s Seiko Golden Grand Prix as part of her build-up towards the Asian Games. She competed in women’s long jump events at both the 2023 Asian Athletics Championships and the 2022 Asian Games, placing sixth in the final round of the latter competition.