From sprinter to Sabre rattling champion
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Nishani Srikanthi Fernando
Her goal when she displayed talent as a sprinter at school was to become national champion in the 100 metres but by a strange quirk of fate her dream is to become an Olympic fencer – a sport she hooked onto when she got employment at MAS Design in Ratmalana.
Bronze medallist in the Sabre team event at the 13th South Asian Games in Kathmandu, Nishani Srikanthi Fernando underlined her class to be adjudged Best Fencer of the Senior Nationals 2019 (Female) in February, after claiming her second consecutive individual gold medal. She has been a consistent performer since 2013 winning medals of all shades at the Nationals representing MDS Fencing Club.
A promising athlete, she was Sports Captain of Bauddhaloka MV, Panadura, representing her school in the 100, 200 and 400 and also playing volleyball and netball. Nishani displayed her potential by winning third place in a District at the 2012 National Youth Sports Festival.
“Those days I dreamt of coming to national level in the 100m. I could not achieve it but came up in fencing,” said 27-year-old Nishani who first represented Sri Lanka at the 2018 Asian Fencing Championship in Thailand.
“I want to aim for a gold medal first at the SAF Games by training hard and improving on my weakness. I am determined to do my maximum to achieve my goals in fencing,” said Nishani who trains at least two hours a day and is grateful to her employers for all their support to pursue her career.