Seventeen year old school athletic champion, Member of the under 13, 18 and 19 North Western Province Hockey Champion teams. Captain of the North Western Province Volleyball team in 2022, Member of the Junior Nationals tour of Singapore in 2019, Member of the Asian Games qualifying team which toured Indonisia in 2022, Captain of the school team which won the All Island National Schools Hockey Championship team 2022 and Best player of the tournament and Sri Lanka National School Hockey Queen 2022 Nipuni Ishara Femando has brought honour and immense glory to her alma mater Holy Family Convent Wennappuwa and motherland with her deeds in the field of hockey.
Nipuni Femando |
Nipuni who hails from Kadawatha,Wennappuwa was born on 25th May 2005 and admitted to her present school in 2011 and in 2013 she participated for the school inter house school athletic meet and came first in High Jump, Long Jump and in the group event and her team won the Inter House Meet and she was adjudged as the under 9 champion and in 2014 too she repeated the same results and carried away the under 10 champion athlete award.
Though she excelled in athletics her Parents Kenneth Niroshan Fernando and Priyangani Dimuthu Shermila decided that their daughter should take up to Hockey and handed over their daughter to the School Coach Milan Boteju in 2016 and her first attempt was in 2017 and participating in the under 13 North Western Provincial Tournament Familians clinched the Trophy and in 2018 and 2019 taking part in the above tournament they emerged under 18 and 19 unbeaten champions and with all these performances under her belt she was an unanimous choice for the tour of Singapore for the Junior National Hockey Tournament and Sri Lanka lasses ended up fifth out of six countries and it was a fine experience for Nipuni. The school had to keep away in 2020 and 2021 in all games due to Coronavirus and it was a setback to Nipuni.
Then in 2021 she captained the school under 19 team and won the Provincial Tournament with ease and in the under 20 all island tournament they reached up to semi finals and once again she toured Indonesia for the Asian Games Qualifying Hockey Tournament and out of six countries Sri Lankans came up to fifth place and this tour too was a fine exposure to Nipuni.
The recent All Island National Schools Hockey Tournament conducted by the Ministry of Education the Familians emerged champions for the first time in their Hockey History and Nipuni was adjudged the Best Player of the Tournament and she was crowned as the Sri Lanka National Schools Hockey Queen for the year 2022. Her former Principal Rev. Sister Priyanganie was a tower of, strength to their Hockey when she was at the helm of the school