40 for Commonwealth Games

Palitha Bandara, Rumesh Pathirage

By Susil Premalal

Paralympic bronze and Commonwealth silver medalist Palitha Bandara will captain Sri Lanka›s 40-member contingent at the 25th Commonwealth Games, which begin on July 23 in Glasgow, Scotland. He also has the honour of serving as Sri Lanka’s flag bearer at the opening ceremony, becoming the first para-athlete to lead the country’s overall team at a Commonwealth Games.

The Games will run from July 23 to August 2, with Sri Lanka beginning competition on July 24 across seven sports: Artistic Gymnastics, Athletics, Para Athletics, Boxing, Judo, Swimming and Weightlifting.

Bandara is one of Sri Lanka’s most accomplished para-athletes. A two-time Paralympian, he finished fifth in the Men’s Shot Put F63 event at both the Tokyo 2020 and Paris 2024 Paralympic Games. He also won a bronze medal at the 2024 World Para Athletics Championships in Kobe, a silver medal at the 2022 Birmingham Commonwealth Games, and several medals at the Asian Para Games.

Sri Lanka’s squad consists of 27 male and 13 female athletes selected by the Ministry of Sports and the National Olympic Committee of Sri Lanka.

Sri Lanka secured qualification in Para Athletics and Weightlifting through international qualification pathways, while athletes in Athletics, Boxing, Judo, Artistic Gymnastics and Swimming qualified through the Commonwealth Games Open Allocation system.

Sri Lanka’s athletics campaign will attract particular attention, with world-class javelin thrower Rumesh Pathirage considered one of the country›s strongest gold medal hopes following his outstanding performances this season. His personal best stands at 92.62 metres.

Sri Lanka has not won a Commonwealth Games athletics gold medal since Duncan White claimed the men›s 440-yard hurdles title at the 1950 Auckland Games. The country’s most recent athletics medal came at the 2022 Birmingham Commonwealth Games, where Yupun Abeykoon won the bronze medal in the men›s 100 metres.

Sri Lanka’s last Commonwealth Games gold medal came in 2006, when Chinthana Vidanage won the weightlifting title in Melbourne.

Overall, Sri Lanka has won four gold, nine silver and 11 bronze medals in Commonwealth Games history. At the 2022 Birmingham Games, the country collected one silver and three bronze medals in athletics, weightlifting and wrestling.