With the concept of gender equality taking root in Society some decades ago women started storming the hitherto male only bastions. Nowhere has it been more so than in the world of sports and women started making their mark in sports like boxing and weight lifting which were male only before the advent of gender equality. Dinusha Hansani Gomes is regarded as the most successful female Sri Lankan weight lifter having won a Commonwealth medal and several other medals in the past few years.
Q : First of all, tell us how you took to weightlifting?
A: My school is Wadduwa Balika Vidayalaya and when I was in Grade nine a weight lifting coach visited the school and selected students to be trained in weight lifting. I and around forty others had a chance to joint this training program. This is how I began weight lifting.
Q : How were you selected for this training program?. As a teenager you may not have been too strong at this age.
A: Wadduwa Balika Vidyalaya did not have good sports facilities those days. But in my school days I did participate in several sports events and was regarded by the school authorities as a good sportswoman. This regard gave me the chance to enter the weight lifting team.
Q : At this time was there anything else which influenced you to take to this sport?
A: Nothing special. But I liked to be involved with sports. It was the main attraction to take to this sport enthusiastically.
Q : Weight lifting is not a soft or gentle game. As a girl how did you get so attracted to it?
A: My only objective was to be involved in a sport. In the beginning I had no other ambition?
Q : Does this mean that that you have built up new goals in weight lifting now?
A: You are correct. After becoming a national player I have a target which is to participate in the Olympics someday. I am working hard to achieve it.
Q : It was by accident that you started your weight lifting career, and became a national player in 2006. Would you like to say something about it?
A: Yes. A few months after I started this event I had a chance to participate in the National Weight Lifting competition. It changed my life totally and I won the second place in my weight category.
Q : At that time, you were also participating in Power Lifting. What happened to it?
A: After 2016, I gave up Power Lifting.
Q : What was the reason behind that decision?
A: I wanted to concentrate on weight lifting. After joining the pool for the Commonwealth Games my coach advised me to concentrate on one event. Then, I decided to give up power lifting.
Q :By this decision do you mean that weight lifting is a better event than power lifting?
A: Weight lifting is an Olympic Sport. But power lifting is not.
Q : However, you have won Asian power lifting medals.
A: Yes. Before taking this decision, I won three silver medals at the Asian Power Lifting Championship. But I made my decision. However, power lifters can win more medals than weight lifters.
Q : What are the main differences between these two disciplines?
A: Weight lifting has only snatch, clean and jerk movements and their variations.
But power lifting has three movements, the squat, bench press and dead lift. In weightlifting, the lifters must clean their lifting. I think it is harder than Power lifting.
Q : Weight Lifting is not a popular sport among the women. How did your family react to that decision?
A: Not in any special way . My father is a mason and my mother is a house wife. They never discourage me and my mother was supporting me till I started my job. I admire their role in my life.
Q : You are working in the Air Force now. How is their guidance and support for your sport?
A: I can certainly say that my working place is my strength in my sports career. Without them, I cannot follow my dreams. When I have not had a sponsor, they have always backed me and have never refused me.
The Air Force looks after me very well. If I achieve in my sport it is because my main strength is my place of work - the Air Force. Indeed, I love the Air Force like a parent.
Q : When you decided to start Weight Lifting how did your community react?
A: In the beginning they influenced us badly. They said thatWeight Lifting is not a suitable sport for girls. Luckily, my parents were never concerned about it and gave me the opportunity to follow my desire.
My mother was with me the whole day when I was practsing. . with me with As I said previously, it stopped after I joined the Air Force.
Q : Have you had any serious injuries during your sports career?
A: Fortunately, I have never had such injuries. Sometimes, we have felt slight back pains. We take medicine to recover from it.
Q : In 2018, you won the Commonwealth weight lifting bronze medal. The tournament was held at a city in Australia’s Gold Coast. That was your first mega event. How was the experience?
A: I will never forget it. The sound and lighting systems and the telecasting cameras upset me.
As they introduced me I became nervous. I don’t know how I went on the stage. But when I was lifting the weights I never saw anything or anyone. I only focused on the weight I had to lift. I attempted it and finally I succeeded. I won the bronze medal in the tournament.
Q : You are the first Sri Lankan woman to win a medal at the Commonwealth games for weight lifting. How do you feel about it?
A: I am very proud of it. I remember that victory. That is the first day Sri Lanka participated in the game.
I was the second one to win a medal for our country.
Q : Finally, can you give some advice to our youngsters.
A: Get involved with some sport parallel with education. It can enhance your life.
I tell our youth to never to forget their roots. I also take this opportunity to gratefully mention my coaches. My first coach was I.P. Nandasena. I am now coached by our national coach R.B. Wickramasingha.