Chinthana misses out on weightlifting medal

Chinthana Vidanage of Sri Lanka reacts in the Men's 77 kg final of the Commonwealth Games – Reuters 

By Shamseer Jaleel

Sri Lanka’s hopes of claiming weightlifting gold at the Commonwealth Games in the Gold Coast of Australia were dashed when the country’s skipper Chinthana Vidanage finished fifth in the Men’s 77 kg category.

Vidanage claimed gold in the 2006 event in Melbourne and later in 2010 in Delhi he won Silver so entering these Games he fielded great expectation of securing another medal for Sri Lanka.

Vidanage lifted 132 kg and 166 kg in the ‘Clean and Jerk’, for an overall weight of 298 kg. In the Clean and Jerk, he lifted 168 kg with both his attempts. Indian Sathish Sivalongam won the Gold while England’s Jack Oliver won the Silver. Australian Francois Etoundi did not disappoint the Australian crowd when he bagged the bronze.

Matthew Abeysinghe beat his Sri Lankan record in the 100-metre freestyle, clocking 49.11 seconds in the heats to qualify for the semi-final. The Sri Lankan beach volleyball team lost 2-0 to Canada. Asanka Pradeep and Shasmi Yapa were beaten by Samuel Pedlow and Sam Schrafter.

Matthew Abeysinghe of Sri Lanka in action - Reuters

Vinoli and Cherantha bow out

Swimmers Vinoli Kaluarachchi and Cherantha de Silva both took part in the 100 metres freestyle heat but did not progress. Only the best 16 make it into the final round. Nevertheless, Cherantha was picked as a reserve swimmer for this event in case any participant pulled out of the competition.

Anusha through in boxing semifinals

Anusha Kodithuwakku beat Brandy Barnes of the Cayman Islands in the quarterfinals of the women’s 45-48 kg weight class yesterday.

Kodithuwakku, the most experienced boxer in the country, took less than three minutes to knock the youngster to the ground. She will meet Indian Mary Kom in the semifinal.

In the Men’s 46-49 kg segment Thiwanka Ranasinghe beat Mphongoshi Siyabulela of South Africa on points in the round of 16 and qualified for the quarterfinals.

Mihiliya Methsarani reached the semifinal against Meagan Best of the Barbados. She beat New Zealander Amanda Landers Murphy in three sets 12-10, 11-8 and 11-4. She also beat Khaaliqa Nimji from Kenya 11-6, 12-10 and 13-11.

Sri Lanka are ranked 13th in the Commonwealth Games in the Gold Coast with only three medals under their belt, all of them coming from weightlifting. Chathuranga Lakmal and Dinusha Gomes accounted for the bronze while the silver was won by Indika Dissanayake in the 96 kg category. It was a disappointing performance by the Sri Lankan contingent, which consisted of 80 players who were accompanied by 30 officials.