Chinthana, golden boy of weightlifting
by Tyrell Peiris
 Chinthana Vidanage, the lad from
Polonnaruwa, has once again done his hometown proud.
Once Hercules of the Commonwealth when he won a gold medal in the
main event in the 62 kg in Australia in 2006, Chinthana, who grew up on
the rural staple diet of manioc and yams to be an iron man, last week
landed gold at the 2010 South Asian Games in the 69 kilograms category
in Bangladesh.
He had a total of 297 kg in this event. On the jerk he had 168 kg and
on the snatch 129 kg.
In an extravaganza that tested the skills of the South East Asian
region at which Sri Lanka won so many gold medals, Chinthana, the bronze
looking athlete, effortlessly strode to the medal wih an emphatic jerk.
What is striking about this weight lifter is that he does not have a
coach based in Sri Lanka.
“My coach is a Pakistani and he guides me in my training schedule by
giving instructions over the telephone”, said Chinthana.
And Chinthana is surely marvellous as he lifts weights minutely as
taught by his Pakistani coach.
 A former student of Polonnaruwa Royal Central College, 28-year old
Chinthana Vidanage is another typical rural product in the wake of the
likes of Olympic 200m. silver medallist Susanthika Jayasinghe, and
Damayanthi Dharsha.
Going by the promise he has shown in his chosen field Chinthana, an
unassuming soft spoken youngster has the trappings to bring many more
gold medals to his motherland. |
