Sri Lanka League of Legends beat Kazakhstan at Asian qualifiers

From left: Nishal “Nishastic” Ranaweerasinghe, Dilshan “Luvtwo” Kurukulasuriya, Navindu “Que2” Handapangoda, Ashen “TheShyB0y” Tennakoon and Manusha “hydra” Jayasinghe 

Sri Lanka’s national League of Legends team competed at the Asian Games 2026 Esports Qualifiers held in Malaysia, picking up a notable victory over Kazakhstan in the group stage. 
Selected and supported by the Sri Lanka Esports Association (SLESA), the team competed for a place at the 20th Asian Games in Aichi-Nagoya, Japan in September-October 2026, where only the top-performing nations from the qualifiers advance to compete on the main Esports stage. 
While Sri Lanka’s campaign concluded at the group stage, the win over Kazakhstan stood out as a strong marker of the team’s progress.
Sri Lanka fielded Ashen “TheShyB0y” Tennakoon, Navindu “Que2” Handapangoda, Dilshan “Luvtwo” Kurukulasuriya, Tharuka “KratoZ” Fernando and Manusha “hydra” Jayasinghe, with Nishal “Nishastic” Ranaweerasinghe as the substitute athlete and Gemunu “ScorpionX” Palleha Balasooriyage as the coach.
Drawn into a group alongside India, Jordan and Kazakhstan, Sri Lanka came up against two of the stronger sides in the region before delivering a composed, well-executed win over Kazakhstan, the standout result of the campaign. 
The team played with discipline and growing confidence as the group stage progressed and while the results against India and Jordan kept Sri Lanka from advancing further, the win over Kazakhstan signalled real progress for the team and gave them a positive marker to build on.
“Beating Kazakhstan on this stage means a lot to us,” said Ashen (TheShyB0y), captain of the Sri Lanka League of Legends team. “Last time we faced them, we fell short, and that loss stayed with us. We’ve been working hard ever since to close the gap with the top teams in Asia. 
“This win shows we’re finally moving in the right direction. It’s emotional for us because it’s not just a victory, it’s a reminder of how far we’ve come. We’re going to keep pushing, keep practicing harder for the next tournament and do everything we can to make our country proud.”