Kaushalya found dead a day after winning Best Hurdler title

South Asian Games medallist Kaushalya Madushani, who won the best hurdler trophy for her outstanding performance at the centenary National Athletics Championship on Saturday has passed away under tragic circumstances.

The Sri Lanka Army athlete won the best female hurdler award of the landmark championship on Saturday for her 58.73 seconds feat in the 400 metres hurdles. On Saturday she competed in the 400 metres flat event where she finished fourth.

A source close to the family said that the 26-year-old’s sister had found her dead in her room in the morning on Sunday.

Hailing from Kuliyapitiya, Kaushalya came to prominence in 2014 alongside sprinter Himasha Eshan and triple jumper Vidusha Lakshani with medal winning performances at the Asian Junior Athletics Championships in Taipei City. At the time of her demise she was the only active athlete of the medal winning trio.

The athlete from Kuliyapitiya Central won the 400 metres hurdlers silver medal in a time of 62.31 seconds at the Asian Junior Athletics Championship in 2014 and has been in the national scene since then. Coached by Nalinda Senarath, Madushani achieved her personal best of 58.16 seconds in 2019.

That was also her peak year as she achieved personal best of 54.30 seconds in 400 metres as well.

The 400 metres hurdles gold at the centenary Championship was her fifth national title. She won her first title in 2016 where she clocked 61.0 seconds. She won the titles in 2017, 2019 and 2021 before bagging the gold in the last championship.

At International Level, the silver medal she won at the 2019 edition of the South Asian Games was her last. She clocked 60.40 seconds to win silver behind Pakistan’s Najma Parveen at the Dasarath Stadium in Kathmandu.

Sri Lanka Athletics and Sri Lanka Army were yet to make official statements on her sudden demise.