Nadini Gunasekera - wins Bronze medal at Commonwealth weightlifting
by S.M. Jiffrey ABDEEN - Kandy Sports Corr.
WEIGHTLIFTING: Remember the story in the Sunday Observer of October
18 under the headline "Talented girls Nadini and Dhammika held back by
cash"? One of them Nadini Gunasekera has brought honour to the country
by winning a bronze medal at the Commonwealth Weightlifting Championship
held on Thursday in Malaysia.
Nadini Gunasekera also became the first woman lifter from Sri Lanka
to win a medal at the Commonwealth weightlifting Championship. She
competed in the under-58 kilogramme category and snatched 68 kg and
clean and jerked 86 kg to aggregate 154 kg. She represented the Kandy
YMCA and is the current national champion. She took to weightlifting at
the late age of 27 when she suddenly found that this was the sport for
her as she was fond of lifting weights. Next she came under the care of
former National weightlifting coach S. A. Wijewickrema and national
weightlifting champion and former national weightlifting coach Athula
Wijewickrema and this duo gave her all the guidance and encouragement
for her to reach the top.
At the age of 34 she is still the top having a number of
weightlifting records to her credit.She is an old girl of St. Joseph's
Balika Vidyalaya, Kegalle where she excelled in other sports. She
travels daily from Kegalle to Kandy YMCA for her training in
weightlifting. She has shed a lot weight in recent times as the chances
of winning a medal in the lower weights is more.
Her plan was to compete in the under-48 kilogramme body weight
category, but she could not shed sufficient weight in time for the
Commonwealth weightlifting championship.
Nadini Gunasekera who was first requested to find her own funds to
compete in the Commonwealth weightlifting Championships was at her wits
end when she did not have any money for the trip. Her trip to Malaysia
was funded by the Ministry of Sports a few days before the trip. She is
grateful to the Minister of Sports Gamini Lokuge for financing the trip
and she has done her part by winning a medal for the country.
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