Sri Lanka win 26 medals at Asian Powerlifting Championships

Sri Lankan powerlifters continued their impressive medal haul at the recent Asian Championships where over 600 athletes from over 36 countries in the Asian region participated.

Sri Lanka’s medal haul included four gold medals from Suranga de Silva and three gold medals from Rohan Paulas. Notable efforts came from Pradeep Sununu, Kunam Pushanthan and Uvindu Jayasinghe. Sulesh Mendis with a silver in the junior category excelled against some serious competition. Experienced lifter Darin Weerasinghe bagged a silver.

There were many new Sri Lankan national records established at this event.

Participating at the event was a challenge for the powerlifters as they had to bear all costs including airfare, hotels, transfers and participation fees by themselves.

This year is a crucial year with the Commonwealth, Asia Pacific and World Championship events to be held in South Africa and the athletes hope that the National Sports Council, Sports Ministry and the Powerlifting Federation will support their participation.