Mallika - 'great guns' in Masters Athletics

ATHLETICS: Sri Lanka's most reputed athlete Mallika Satchithananda is the highest Gold Medal winner for Sri Lanka in International Master's Athletic Championships held at Asia level and World Level todate. She also excelled in Race Walking, having won the first National Race Walking championship held in Sri Lanka organised by the Ministry of Sports in 1976 and continued to win Race Walking events at International Masters' championships.

This year at the National Sports Festival, representing Western Province, she was placed 4th in the 20km Road Walk held in Anuradhapura. At the World Masters Athletic Championships in September 2007 held in Italy, she was placed 7th in the 10km Road Walk and 9th in the 5km Track Walk and won Diplomas in both events.

After leaving school, she joined Telecommunications Department and continued winning State Services Athletic championships.

She rose to national heights in the middle distance events, winning the women's 1500 metres national title, with a new Sri Lanka record in 1976 and also represented Sri Lanka at the Indo-Ceylon Athletic Meet same year.

Mallika Satchithananda, a former Sri Lanka Telecom Supervisor was the brightest star at the 14th Asian Masters Athletic Championships held in Bangalore in India in November 2006 and won 4 Gold Medals in 400, 800, 1500, and 5km Race Walk events.

In the 5km Race Walk, she established a New Asian Masters Meet Record, beating the earlier record held by Obata Kithuko of Japan.

She is also the holder of an Asian Masters Record in the 400 metres established in 1994 in Indonesia (SLT staff at that time).

Incidently, Mallika is the only Masters Athlete to hold any record for Sri Lanka in Asian Masters Athletic Championships todate.

She will compete in the 15th Asian Masters Athletic Championships to be held in Cheang-Mai Bangkok in December this year.