- Athletes urge authorities to support the sport
- Total of 26 medals won– 7 gold, 12 silver & 7 bronze
Sri Lankan Powerlifters continued their superlative medal haul at the recently concluded Asian Championships where over 600 athletes participated from over 36 countries in the Asian region. Excellent performance in all classes included Suranga de Silva with four gold medals (Masters 1) and Rohan Paulas (Masters 3) with 3 gold medals, leading the medal haul, with notable efforts from Pradeep Sununu, Kunam Pushanthan and Uvindu Jayasinghe bagging some crucial medals in the highly competitive Open category. Sulesh Mendis with a silver in the junior category excelled against some serious competition. Experienced lifter Darin Weerasinghe too bagged a silver in the Masters 1 category.
Many Sri Lanka national records were broken at the championship. This was yet another successful outing for the Lankan powerlifters, who continue to bring home medals and glory for the island nation, despite the sport having challenges both administratively and financially. At a time of dire economic constraints, all costs of participating including flights, hotels, transfers, and participation fees were borne by the athletes themselves.
The powerlifting calendar for the year 2024 is filled with a wide array of events including the Commonwealth, Asia Pacific, and World Championships to be held in South Africa and the athletes need all the support and help with organisation if they are to have any chance of winning more medals for Sri Lanka.
The athletes have respectfully written to the National Sports Council, The Ministry of Sports and the Lankan Powerlifting Federation, outlining several practical steps to help improve participation and ensure that the athletes are supported and looked after in their participation at future events.
Asian Championship 2023 – Malaysia medal breakdown
Pradeep Sumudu 59 weight class (Open)
Squat – bronze
Bench Press – silver
Deadlift – silver
Overall – silver
Uvindu Jayasinghe 105 weight class (Open)
Squat – bronze
Kunam Pushanthan 120+ weight class (Open)
Bench Press – silver
Deadlift – silver
Sulesh Mendis 120 weight class (Sub-Junior)
Squat – bronze
Bench Press – bronze
Deadlift – silver
Overall – silver
Jenosha Mendis 74 weight class (Junior)
Squat – silver
Shevoni Nethara 84 weight class (Junior)
Squat – bronze
Bench Press – bronze
Deadlift – silver
Overall – bronze
Suranga de Silva 66 weight class (Masters 1)
Squat – gold
Bench Press – gold
Deadlift – gold
Overall – gold
Chandana Thilakarathne 83 weight class (Masters 1)
Deadlift – silver
Hiran Fernando 93 weight class (Masters 1)
Squat – silver
Darin Weerasinghe 120 weight class (Masters 1)
Bench Press – silver
Rohan Paulas 105 weight class (Masters 3)
Squat – gold
Bench Press – silver
Deadlift – gold
Overall – gold