Dinesha brings great honour to SL as an international hockey umpire
Dinesha Perera, Sri Lanka’s only Women’s International Hockey Umpire, brought great honour to the island as an umpire officiating at the AHF Women’s Junior Hockey Championships held in Singapore.
She was nominated by the Asian Hockey Federation to umpire at the Championships which was held during the first week of September.
Six countries participated in the event including Sri Lanka, where Dinesha oversaw four matches. They were: Hong Kong vs Chinese Taipei, Bangladesh vs Hong Kong, Singapore vs Chinese Taipei and Hong Kong vs Singapore.
There were several complaints about umpiring decisions made during the games but there were no complaints in the games that Dinesha umpired. She conducted her matches flawlessly and her umpiring was appreciated by all present, which was a great honour to the island nation.
Dinesha is a former Sri Lanka hockey player, former Sri Lanka captain, a top level school coach and an upcoming international umpire.
Speaking to the Daily Mirror, she said that she gained this spot due to her dedication and that she hoped that women will come forward in local and international hockey umpiring.
“As a former Sri Lanka women’s team captain and the current hockey coach of Bishop’s College, I became the first women’s Hockey Umpire from Sri Lanka to be promoted as an International Umpire. This came after I produced an excellent performance as an umpire at the Asian Hockey Federation Cup tournament held in Bangkok, Thailand in 2017,” she said.
“Prior to that, I officiated as an umpire at the Under18 Asia Cup Tournament in Bangkok and Under-21 Asia Cup Tournament in Singapore in 2011 and 2012 respectively and also at the World League Hockey Tournament 2016 in Singapore.”
“I started my hockey career at the tender age of 9 and represented St. Paul’s Girls School, Milagiriya and captained the school Under13 and Under-15 teams. I then switched schools and went onto represent and captain Sirimavo Bandaranayake Balika Vidyalaya. I also represented the Combined Colombo Schools team, the Sri Lanka Schools team and the Western Province team. I also captained Colts Cricket Club and the Colombo Hockey Association team during my playing career. It’s noteworthy to mention that I captained all the teams that I represented proving dominance as a player.”
“I excelled at the National level too by representing the country at the Under-16 Junior Asia Cup, leading the Under-18 team at the AHF Cup as Vice Captain and captaining the Under-21 team in 2001. I represented the National team for many years and also captained the Sri Lanka team at the World League Hockey Tournament 2012 held in Kuantan, Malaysia.”
“One of my noteworthy achievements was at the AHF Cup Hockey Tournament held in 2003 in Singapore where I became the 2nd highest goal scorer of the tournament which paved way for Sri Lanka to win Silver. I had great passion towards the game and continued my illustrious career by taking up umpiring and coaching and excelled in both segments. I successfully completed the Asian Hockey Federation Level 1 and Level 2 coaching courses in Malaysia in 2011 and 2013 respectively and was the only lady coach from Sri Lanka to pass the Level 2 coaching course. I also successfully completed the Asian Hockey Federation Umpiring course held in Malaysia in 2012.”
“My only hope is that more women will come forward as Hockey umpires, in both local and international hockey umpiring, and uplift the game,” concluded Dinesha.