Nadeeka Lakmali

Who is Nadeeka Lakmali?

Nadeeka Lakmali Bambarenda Liyanage is a Sri Lankan javelin thrower. She won a bronze medal for the same category at the 2007 Asian Athletics Championships in Amman, Jordan, achieving her best throw at 52.59 metres.

Lakmali represented Sri Lanka at the 2008 Summer Olympics in Beijing, where she competed for the women's javelin throw. She performed the best throw of 54.28 metres, on her third and final attempt, finishing forty-third overall in the qualifying rounds.

Lakmali improved her personal best and national record to 59.32 metres on June 30, 2013 in Pihtipudas, Finland.

Lakmali gained first place in all 3 stages of 2013 Asian Athletics Grand Prix to win gold. Later she renewed her national record to 60.16 at the 2013 Asian Athletics Championships in Pune, India along with winning the silver medal behind China's Li Lingwei. She also qualified for the IAAF world championships in Moscow in August. Just before the world championships, Lakmali competed in Sri Lanka Army Volunteer Forces' Inter-Regiment Athletics Championships where she broke her own national record once again. She achieved 60.64 metres. Lakmali qualified for the finals of the Javelin throw in 2013 IAAF world championships with a best of 60.39m from the Group B. Even though she was not able to match the automatic qualifying mark of 61.50m, she entered the finals as the next best performance from Group A and B. With this performance she became the second athlete from Sri Lanka after sprinter Susanthika Jayasinghe to reach the final round at a IAAF World Athletics Championship. She finished 12th and last in the final with a 58.16 throw.