the eighth sumathi awards ceremony was celebrated in year 2002, where 38 awards were given at the ceremony under 6 categories. in the best award category, sumathi award for the best teledrama actor was won by jayalath manoratne and best teledrama actress was vasanthi chathurani. in popular award category, channa perera won the most popular actor award for second time, whereas yashoda wimaladharma won the most popular actress award for the fifth consecutive time. the u.w. sumathipala memorial award was given to, veteran actor, director henry jayasena and veteran actor ravindra randeniya. out of 38 awards given, teledrama "sanda amawakai" won 8 awards, including best actor, director, television series and cameraman.