Mathew Abeysinghe was the man to grab the headlines once again on Day 2 of the Swimming leg of the South Asian Games as the Champion Swimmer decimated his own National Record on his way to the Gold Medal in the 50m Freestyle event. Akalanka Peiris also bettered a national record in the 200m Backstroke, claiming Silver.
Read More : Mathew Abeysinghe leads Sri Lankan charge with 3 Golds
Sri Lankan fans were made to wait to see Abeysinghe in action, with the 50m Freestyle being moved to the end of the day, but he repaid the patience with a performance that shaved off 0.77s off his own previous record of 22.93s, finishing with a time of 22.16s.
Akalanka Peiris’s two appearances in the pool were both rewarding as he snuck in at 3rd place in the 50m Freestyle and then grabbed the Silver with a new National Record in the 200m Backstroke. Peiris’ time of 2:01.55 bettered a 7-year-old record which stood at 2:03.94. The 19-year-old barely missed going passed Abeysinghe’s 50m Freestyle record as he ended the race with a timing of 22.94.
Although finding their way to medals, none of the other swimmers were able to push towards the top of the podium, with Kavindra Nugawela (200m Backstroke), Ganga Seneviratne (200m Backstroke), Kiran Jaasinghe (100m Breaststroke) and Ramudi Samarakoon (100m Breaststroke) all claiming Bronze Medals.
Watch : South Asian Games 2019 | Live Blog | Day 5
Earlier in the day Dilanka Shehan got Sri Lanka’s day off to a good start, claiming a silver in the 1500m in tough conditions.
Performances 6/12
- Mathew Abeysinghe – Gold – Men’s 50m Freestyle (22.16s NR)
- Dilanka Shehan – Silver – Men’s 1500m Freestyle (16:57.12)
- Akalanka Peiris – Silver – Men’s 200m Backstroke (2:01.55 NR) and Bronze – Men’s 50m Freestyle
- Kavindra Nugawela – Bronze – Men’s 200m Backstroke (2:05.74)
- Ganga Seneviratne – Bronze – Women’s 200m Backstroke (2:27.25)
- Kiran Jaasinghe – Bronze – Men’s 100m Breaststroke (1:02.84)
- Ramudi Samarakoon – Bronze – Women’s 100m Breaststroke (1:15.17)
Swimming Medals so far
| Gold | Silver | Bronze |
| 4 | 3 | 8 |
>>Click Here For More Sag Games<<
