With prowess in almost 20 sports and the likes of football, netball, basketball and swimming among her favourites, Rizna Rameez is an exceptional up-and-coming sportswoman who is a current undergraduate at the faculty of Science, University of Colombo.
She’s been voted most caffeinated by her classmates as a result of her explosive energy and infectious laughter.
An intensely driven lass of remarkable focus, she is known to be compassionate and yet is not a person to mess with on a football field with her semblance like a cannonball.
“There are many people who have been life-changing characters in my life but my parents are the ones who have always pushed me to give it my all”, she told the Sunday Observer in an interview.
Excerpts of the interview
Q: What is your most marked characteristic?
I’m very sociable
Q: If you could edit your past, what would you change?
I’m happy with how my life has been and what I’ve learnt
Q: What is the most important thing in your life?
All the people who support me and help me be my best self
Q: Who has influenced you the most?
There are many people who have been life-changing characters in my life but my parents are the ones who have always pushed me to give it my all
Q: Are you fashionable?
I do like expressing myself through my style and I consider fashion a form of art but I prioritize dressing comfy as well
Q: If you had access to a time machine what would you change?
I would change all the instances where people have been in the wrong place at the wrong time
Q: What motivates you in your life?
I like being able to create a space for people to be happy and that motivates me to do my best to make that a reality
Q: If you could choose any career right now, what would it be?
I’d be doing what I do to be honest, I’ve always just wanted to be part of a collective and engage in research and I feel like I have that right now at my University
Q: What forms of music do you listen to?
I like listening to quirky, aesthetic songs, depending on my mood, ones that feel like magic and ones that are deep and others that are just fun
Q: What’s the best thing you would like to hear from someone?
If I was a part of making their lives easier or happier that would be the best thing I could hear from someone
Q. What made you choose sports?
I have always gravitated towards sports and I was always quite agile. My father has always encouraged me and never misses out on watching me play.
Q. Thus far what was your most unforgettable sporting incident?
It was on my birthday back in 2014 and we had our school’s netball match. We’d been training for weeks and that day it rained heavily. We had to learn to keep our grip on a wet netball and our footing on a wet court through squeaky soaked shoes. We played and won the championship that day, despite all the obstacles. Most importantly, we had fun doing it.
Q. What’s your best school sporting achievement?
Winning the age category swimming championships back in 2014
Q: What is your idea of happiness?
Where people around me are able to be content and have a healthy space to work towards their dreams and goals
Q: What is the trait you most deplore in others?
As a sportswoman, you learn early about good sportsmanship and being able to take victory and defeat with the same sense of acceptance, working with others as a team and having respectful friendly competition with your opponents.
Quite often during matches we come across some who tends to take unhealthy approaches to competition to the extent that it makes the game unpleasant and that is something I deplore.
Q: What has been your biggest disappointment?
Growing up at different phases I’ve had different resources available to me and I’m grateful for the exposure to different sports because of it.
But the lack of consistency means I do not feel that I am as good as I should be in what I do and I feel I could have pushed myself better and kept myself focused.
Q: Most important lesson life has taught you?
Life is not so much about pure happiness but rather being content with the little things every day. There’s always something to learn and you’re always going to make mistakes, the important thing is to do your best.
