The fourth day of the Birmingham Commonwealth Games concluded today with Sri Lankan representations in Weightlifting, Judo, Squash, Swimming, and Boxing.
Chinthana Geethal Vidanage, a veteran weightlifter who has a long history at the Commonwealth Games, made his sixth appearance in the 2022 edition, having made his debut at the 2002 Games. Vidanage competed in the Men’s 81 Kg final and was expected to do well, having finished on the podium during the qualification event.
He snatched 127 Kg and was placed 6th overall and required a herculean effort in the clean & jerk to get him amongst the medals. He successfully cleared 155Kg in the clean and jerk and failed to clear 160Kg in his second go at the bar. He did not come out for his last lift due to injury and thus ended a commonwealth journey which spanned over a decade.
Boxing, another sporting discipline that had contributed to Sri Lanka’s medal tally in the recent editions saw two Sri Lanka’s entering the ring at the games. Bronze medalist at the 2018 games, Ishan Bandara competed in the Men’s Flyweight round of 16 against Kieran Macdonald from hosts England. Bandara started off well against his English counterpart but was soon outsmarted by the European Boxing 2022 silver medalist who managed the bout with ease winning via unanimous decision.
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Jeewantha Kumara was the second Sri Lankan boxer to enter the ring, competing in the Men’s Featherweight round of 16, Jeewantha competed against Kevin Allicock of Guyana. The younger boxer from Guyana moved more swiftly than the Sri Lankan and showcased great mobility in getting away from Jeewantha’s advances and was swift to deliver telling blows on the Lankan using any opportunity he received. Kevin Allicock won by unanimous decision ending Jeewantha’s campaign at the games.
Earlier in the day in Coventry, two Sri Lankan Judokas Wimukthi Premarathna and Chamila Marupillage competed in their round of 16 encounters in Men’s 60Kg and Women’s 48Kg. Both Judokas’ stay at the games were short lived as they were beaten by Scotsman Dylan Munro and Ashleigh-Anne Barnikel of Wales respectively.
Swimmer Ganga Senevirathne, in her maiden games, competed in the women’s 200m backstroke Heat 2 and was placed sixth with a time of 2:26.63secs.
In squash Chanthima Sinaly competed in Women’s singles plate quarter finals and went down to Sunayna Kuruvilla of India 3-0 which ended her journey at the games.
Visit the hub of the Commonwealth Games at ThePapare.com/CWG2022 for complete insight on the Sri Lankan Athletes at the Games.
