Sri Lankan men’s weightlifters finish third in Uzbekistan

Sri Lankan men’s weightlifting team led by Indika Dissanayake won the overall third position at the Commonwealth Weightlifting Championship concluded last 17th (Friday) in Uzbekistan.

Indika Dissanayake competed in the 73kg category while Chinthana Geethal Vidhanage (81kg), Thilanka Palangasinghe (61kg), Manoj Wijesinghe (67kg) were able to get bronze medals to finish overall third place and this was the highest achievement by Sri Lankans at Commonwealth Weightlifting Championships, said skipper Indika Dissanayake. The team returned home last Monday. “We had a tough battle at this event and most of the world’s high-rank lifters were in action. But finally, we were able to take medals for our country and this tour is very successful,” added Dissanayake. The captain also gave tribute to their head coach R.B Wikramsinghe and other assistant coaches who accompanied them on this tour for their excellent support.

Sri Lankan team comprised with ten men and ten women weight lifters while altogether seven medals including three women’s medals, gold from Srimali Samarakoon (45kg), silver from Thimali Haputenna,(+87kg), and bronze from Nadishani Rajapaksa (61kg) were won apart from men’s four bronze medals.

This also created a record with the highest Sri Lankan medals tally at the Commonwealth Weightlifting Championships and this is a big boost for all competitors who are focusing on the next Commonwealth Games in 2022.