Martial artist Liyara, going great guns in USA
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Liyara Mananayaka, 10, is an aspiring martial arts athlete, living in the United States of America, with deep Sri Lankan roots. The daughter of Kavinda and Aruni Mananayake, Liyara started her taekwondo journey with the American Taekwondo Association (ATA) when she was five-years-old. She earned her first degree black belt at the young age of eight in March of 2020 and earned her second degree black belt in January of 2022.After the ATA tournament was called off due to Covid-19 pandemic, Liyara returned to the completion ring in September 2021. She competed nonstop in many different states around the USA. She also competed in her first national event in April 2022 travelling to Las Vegas, Nevada for Spring Nationals where she placed in all four Extreme and Creative categories. This was the first season she competed in ATA’s competitive division where competitors are eligible for championship titles. This year has been a great so far for Liyara with many achievements in taekwondo.
Liyara with her instructors Dona Papa and Ariel Woldman
Seven months of constant tournaments, with many medals and trophies under her belt, Liyara finished the ATA 2022 tournament season on April 30, becoming the new 2022 Ohio State Champion in Creative forms in her division, the Girl’s 9-10 years while earning second and third degree black belts. This was also her first state champion title.
At the end of the 2022 season, Liyara was ranked in the Top 4 in Ohio for all eight individual events and she qualified to compete at the ATA Mid-America District Championships in Fort Wayne, Indiana held on June 18, where the top 10 competitors of each Mid-America State (Ohio, Kentucky, Michigan, Indiana, Illinois, and Wisconsin) were eligible for the District Champion title.
Liyara earned four first places and four gold medals and the prestigious District Champion title in Creative Form, Creative Weapons, Extreme Form, and Extreme Weapons. She was placed second and won the silver medal in Traditional Forms. She advanced to the gold medal match in Traditional Sparring and ended the match at second place, thus winning the silver medal. She also tied for second place in Traditional Weapons and was placed third in the tiebreaker earning a bronze medal. Out of the eight individual districts champion titles awarded, she earned the most, claiming four of them.
With her family
She was also ranked in the Top 10 in the world standings in six events in the 2022 season. The Top 10 in world rankings and qualified and competed at ATA’s Tournament of Champions (TOC) at the World Championships through July 11 and 17 in Phoenix, Arizona.
At the 2022 World Championships, Liyara was placed third in the world and won three bronze medals in Girls 9-10 second-third Degree Black Belts Creative Form, Creative Weapons, and Extreme Form.
She ended the entire 2021-2022 taekwondo tournament season with 109 medals and trophies under her belt. Liyara trains under ATA Cleveland Martial Arts owner and chief instructor, Dona Papa, a fifth degree black belt holder, and her team of instructors and also works one-on-one with Instructor, Ariel Woldman, another fifth degree black belt holder. Liyara is now very excited to see what the 2022-2023 tournament season has to offer.
Liyara Mananayaka resides in Cleveland Ohio, USA and is a 5th grader at George G. Dodge Intermediate School, in Twinsburg, Ohio, USA. She is a granddaughter of Major General Mohan and Janaki Sumanasena and Anoma Mananayaka.