Sri Lankan star Dinara Punchihewa in Forbes’ 2024 30 Under 30 Asia list
Sri Lankan star Dinara Punchihewa has ben included in Forbes’ 2024 30 Under 30 list for Asia.
Forbes’ 2024 30 Under 30 list for Asia highlights a remarkable cohort of young trailblazers who are making significant strides in entertainment and sports.
In the entertainment sector, the list features a diverse group of talents, including actors, musicians, dancers and rappers.
Dinara Punchihewa burst on the competitive entertainment scene in 2018 by writing, acting and directing her own short film Maala, which was screened at international film festivals and caught the attention of Sri Lankan filmmaker Prasanna Vithanage, who cast her in Gaadi – Children of the Sun (2019).
Since then, she has been in four other films. Punchihewa, a graduate of Queen Mary University of London, went on to found Punchi Actors, a nonprofit that introduces children from low-income families to theater and acting.
Other names on the list from the entertainment industry include actor Vachirawit (Bright) Chivaaree, singers Aina the End and Mahalini Raharaja, singer-songwriter Pavithra Chari, rappers Ezekiel Miller and Arpan Chandel (King), dancer Ami Yuasa and girl bands Atarashii Gakko and IVE.
The sports category is equally impressive, showcasing athletes who excel in various disciplines while challenging traditional norms.
Park Hye-jeong is elevating South Korea’s profile in women’s weightlifting by winning gold in the +87kg category at the Asian Weightlifting Championships in Tashkent and the International Weightlifting Federation World Championships in Riyadh in 2023.
She also claimed victory at the Asian Games in Hangzhou, becoming the first Korean to win gold in the heaviest women’s weight class at the Asian Games since Jang Mi-ran in 2010. (Colombo Gazette)
