Ranithma Liyanage – A new star is born
At a time when Sri Lanka is facing untold hardships, the journey of an obscure village girl from Baddegama in the south is a blessing, especially the example of triumph in the face of grave adversity!
Ranithma is the only daughter of a family of three children, along with her two brothers, all still in school. Their father Anura Liyanage runs a small business producing and selling school bags in the southern province! Her mother Geetha fends the household and takes care of the family, a struggle that this family faces, much like many such families eking out a living!
Ranithma was born in March 2007 and had had her education at Christ Church Girls School in Baddegama. She started playing badminton at home with her brothers as many children are prone to do in their formative years. The south is the cradle of badminton and as it happened, by 2013 at the age of six, Ranithma had the opportunity to join the Janajaya Sathuta Foundation--a charity organisation. It was a teacher, Ms. Mallika who spotted her inborn talent and directed her to Coach Pavithra Abegunasiriwardena, with whom she trained for several years. Eventually, Ranithma came under the tutelage of Coach Subash Janaka, who takes care of the national pool in the South; a turning point in her career. She soon developed into a good athlete and began to perform consistently in tournaments, winning several medals.
In 2021 Nov, Ranithma rankedNo. 7 by then was invited to the national pool in Colombo and began training under the International
Indonesian coach. Ranithma considers it a great opportunity to be able to be in Colombo and train with the senior players. It was not an easy choice as she had to balance her studies amidst the double training schedules every day. But she persists with this punishing schedule as she is determined to go the distance in badminton.
‘I go for training in the morning and again in the afternoon,” said the teen. “Since I am in Colombo, I cannot go to school anymore but my principal, Madam Kodithuwakku is very supportive and arranged on-line sessions for me from 7-10 pm, every day.
“As a family we are separated now, as my father lives with my two brothers in Baddegama while Amma lives with me in a rented room in Colombo. SLB President Rohan de Silva is supporting us financially at the moment and there are some well-wishes who provides funds to support my career” explained mother Geetha Sooriyarachchi.
The parents had to make a
choice between the three children, as they were all playing the sport. It was not an easy decision to stop two brothers playing badminton but they were compelled to make that choice, given the severe financial difficulties they faced.” We simply could not support all three” said the mother. “Since she was the best of the three, we decided to support her. The two brothers were not happy, but agreed to make that sacrifice, as we had no choice. It is not easy but we need to keep supporting her. In fact, we have had to sell the meagre jewelry we had to support her move to Colombo. It has been a tough ride, but we have to do this as we know she is a star in the making”.
If they can find a suitable place to reside in Colombo, they will all move here so that there would be more support to the father in the school bag business. But financially, they are not in a position to do so at this point in time. This is a classic poor girl syndrome that
makes or breaks a budding sportswomen. SLB will need to make sure a young 15-year-old lass like Ranithma is taken good care of, not just in the sport but in her personal well-being. This is where the valuable High Performance programme of the Ministry of Sports or the prestigious International Olympic Committee’s Olympic Solidarity programmes can kick-in and nurture such prodigious talent.
“I am happy about what I have achieved so far. My immediate aim is to qualify for the Commonwealth Games. I was ranked No. 03 before the Southern Province Tournament, but to take the top spot in the country after winning that contest and performing well at the national trials, is a great feeling,” she said.
“I will be eternally grateful to my teachers, coaches, sponsors and well-wishers for the support they have given me, not forgetting my family for the sacrifices they make, each day,” she said.