Navy and Air Force share honours at Defence Games Wrestling Meet

Sri Lanka Navy SC and Sri Lanka Air Force SC emerged joint champions at the 12th Defence Services Games Wrestling Championships held at the Sri Lanka Army Gymnasium in Panagoda.

Navy SC secured four Gold Medals, three Silver Medals and two Bronze Medals for a total of nine medals while the Airmen also collected the same number of medals through three Gold Medals, five Silver Medals and one Bronze Medal.

SLAF SC’s success also had a great amount of significance as they exhibited their fighting masterclass to come on top of the Defence Services Games Wrestling Meet after a lapse of 23 years while competing in eight different weight class events.

The four Gold Medallists for Navy SC were S. D. Asanga (61kg), C. D. Fernando (65kg), H. S. Buddhika (79kg) and B. A. Sanjith (92kg) while E. M. G. Kathurangana (57kg), P. S. U. Fernando (74kg) and E. M. L. Priyankara (86kg) won Silver Medals.

In fact, Kathurangana was named as the Best Loser of the Tournament while O. M. A. Chandimal (65kg) and W. H. S. Sandaruwan (97kg) secured a Bronze Medal each.

The best performance for SLAF SC came from K. B. R. Kalyana (125Kg), W. N. Weragoda (97Kg) and W. M. M. L. Wijesoriya (74Kg) with all securing a Gold Medal each.

In addition, W. G. Abeysekara (61kg), R. U. M. Fernando (65kg), P. D. Silva (70Kg) and T. K. S. Maduranga (92Kg) won a Silver Medal each while W. Sampath (86Kg) secured the solitary Bronze Medal.

Meanwhile, in the Women’s Championship, SLAF SC retained the title for the fourth successive year with three Gold Medals, five Silver Medals and three Bronze Medals while remaining unbeaten throughout this three-day meet. Navy SC emerged as runners-up in the Women’s Championship having obtained two Gold Medals, one Silver Medal and two Bronze Medals. H. A. N. Karunasena of SLAF SC won the Best Technical Wrestler Award while J. M. D. Priyadarshani (50kg) of Navy SC was named Best Loser of the Tournament.