Sri Lanka weightlifters contest Asian championship for Commonwealth qualification

By Susil Premalal

Sri Lanka has selected a strong squad of 16 elite athletes to compete at the upcoming Asian Senior Men’s and Women’s Weightlifting Championship in India.

The Sri Lankan team is scheduled to leave for India in groups today and tomorrow for the championship, which will be held from May 11 to 17 in Gandhinagar, Gujarat.

The tournament has also been named as a qualification event for the 2026 Commonwealth Games scheduled to take place in Glasgow, Scotland from July 23 to August 2.

According to coach RB Wickramasinghe, no Sri Lankan weightlifter has yet qualified for the Commonwealth Games, but several athletes are expected to secure qualification based on their performances at the Asian Championship.

The Sri Lankan contingent includes eight male and eight female elite lifters along with officials.

A total of 178 elite weightlifters from 28 Asian countries are expected to compete at the championship with the aim of earning Commonwealth Games qualification.

Sri Lanka has won eight medals in Commonwealth Games weightlifting history, including one gold, three silver and four bronze medals. 

The country’s only Commonwealth Games gold medal in weightlifting was won by Chinthana Vidanage at the 2006 Melbourne Games.

Sri Lanka squads

Men: Isuru Kumara (60kg), Supun Somathilake (60kg), Sadu Jayawardhana (65kg), Manoj Wejesingha (65kg), Indika Dissanayake (71kg), Chinthana Vidanage (79kg), Ruchira Jayasena (88kg) and Shaluka Dissanayake (94kg)

Women: Ravihari Gunathilake (48kg), Hansani Gomes (48kg), Dilini Premarathna (53kg), DM Madhushani (58kg), M Umara (63kg), Chathurika Priyanthi (86kg), Achini Wickramasinghe (over 86kg) and Anushka Kaluthanthi (over 86kg)