There are many sports that are limited to only one name in the list of sports in Sri Lanka. Most of them are sports in which women participate. Among such sports, women's bodybuilding can be mentioned at the leading level. It is more fair to say that cultural factors are the most influential when it is considered locally. However, recently, women's interest in this sport is growing slightly. It is also accepted that she is the reason. Therefore, the newspaper 'Krida' met her recently. Her name is Madushi Amarasinghe.
Madushi was born in 1989 in Kegalle area. As the eldest in a family of two children. Her father is a manager of Mahinda Amarasinghe Hotel Corporation. Mother is Emelda Briatis. She is a housewife. Her younger brother Janith Amarasinghe now lives in Canada.
Although Madushi was born in Kegalle, she went to school at Halawatha Ananda National School. She excelled in school as well as in sports. Among them, inter-school sports competitions from netball, basketball and-
She was able to part. She passed the General Examination in 2005 (with 6 A's, 2 B's and 2 C's) and in 2008 she was able to appear for the Advanced Examination in Commerce.
There she got the opportunity to join the Sabaragamuwa University after obtaining 2 B grades and a C grade. But she had to refuse to enter the university.
"I have had asthma since I was a child. Even though I had the desire and ability to go to the national level even in sports, this illness stopped me. University-college is the dream of any high school student. My dream is to enter the faculty of law. I aim to pass the exam with top marks. Because I worked hard studying for the exam, this disease increased during the period of the exam. Although I did not get the results to enter the faculty of law, I got the opportunity for a degree course at Sabaragamuwa University. But my parents did not want me to leave home because of my illness. Someday in my life I studied law and worked in the private sector, in the field of communication, with the aim of becoming a lawyer."
Madushi, who worked in the private sector, married Aravinda Fernando, a private sector manager, in 2014. With the support of her husband, she started studying law at the Open University to achieve her childhood goals. In the second year there, the asthma flared up again.
"I realized that it was difficult for me to attend lectures, study, and face exams. I stayed at home. I was very sad. Then I realized that I needed to engage in some other field to reduce the sadness. I went to a gym with my husband for a few days. Especially for asthma. My husband also said that it is good to do bodybuilding. I went there for a few weeks thinking that it was a medicine for the disease. When I went there, I realized a change in my body. I was told by the sports teacher in my school days that you should have an energetic body. According to the technical aspect of this field. I felt the need to study and then started my studies at Lanka Institute of Fitness and Nutrition, February 2021-
I was able to pass NVQ level 04 in the spring. Currently, I am a fitness trainer by profession."
After taking up physical fitness, Madushi recovered from her childhood illness. It also gave her a career path. Today she is a personal and group fitness trainer for about 75 students. Her students also aim to somehow build a body similar to Madushi's. With the blessings of her parents and the support of her husband, Madushi has now embarked on a new venture.
"I have an innocent pride in having a group of people who follow me. I follow the Arnold of America. As a woman, chasing Arnold is a difficult goal, but the harder the goal, the more self-dedication there is. Definitely, starting at the national level, bodybuilding sports. I continue to international level through the field that I started as medicine
In the meantime, I will surely fulfill my childhood dream of becoming a lawyer. Also, I have a goal to expand the training currently being done for physical fitness to the development of women's personality through self-defense, self-confidence and self-esteem in the near future."
Madushi, who builds her life despite the obstacles and dedicates herself to her goals, gives a practical lesson to the society that changes its goals even in the face of a slight setback.