National Powerlifting Champion and Commonwealth Gold Medalist Darin Weerasinghe and a team of eight (8) participated in the Sri Lanka National Powerlifting Championship organized by the Sri Lanka Powerlifting Association in collaborating with the Sports Ministry held on 12th December at Bandaragama.
Darin who normally participates in the over 120kg+ category, weighed in the highly competitive under 120kg open category with over nine (9) other athletes from across the country including the Army. Darin scored a resounding victory with a total of 685Kg comprising of a 250kg Squat, 172.5kg Bench Press and 262.5kg Deadlift, comfortably winning and having a lead of over 50kg compared to the 1st Runner up. Interestingly, Darin currently holds the Sri Lanka Bench Press record of 210kg.
Dhanushka Kodikara was successful in the 93kg weight class with 256kg Squat, 142.5Kg Bench Press and 247.5Kg Deadlift and a total of 646Kg. The 93kg class also had over 10 athletes and proved to be a highly competitive category.
Adhisha Dahanayakae representing the High Octane Ladies Team won the 84kg weight class with a total of 322.5Kg and dominated the women’s category with the highest total accumulated for ladies on that day.
Other noteworthy performances and medal winners for High Octane were Indika Paranagama and Ranuga Naotunne who both secured Silver medals in their respective categories.
Sri Lanka has proven to have strong athletes in Powerlifting and continues to be a force to reckon with at International Championships. The National Powerlifting Championship offered a strong platform for athletes preparing for the Commonwealth Championships scheduled to be held in New Zealand at the end of the year.