None would have given army weight lifter Chathuranga Jayasuriya a dog’s chance to win a gold medal at the recently concluded Commonwealth Games in Gold Coast Australia, but the Sri Lankan soldier sees his bronze medal worth its weight in gold.
Jayasuriya made many a sacrifice behind the curtain away from the prying eyes and only he and his coach knows the hardships he underwent to make the trip to the Games while many in the contingent went on a joy ride or sightseeing tour.
Certainly it was not a pleasure trip for Jayasuriya and his achievement is a dream come true. While others would have given up, he did not against the numerous hurdles.
“It’s been a long journey for me with a lot of obstacles during the last five months. I haven’t eaten even a bit of rice and was having bread and eggs to reduce and maintain my weight to compete in the 56 kgs event”, said Jayasuriya in an interview with the Sunday Observer.
“It was not easy to maintain my weight. This bronze, which I won with so much of sacrifices, is worth Gold for me”.
Jayasuriya in the very first lifts of the event in the 56kg weight category snatched 114kgs and had 134kgs in the Clean and Jerk to total 248kgs which was his personal best to secure the first medal for Sri Lanka at the Games.
Jayasuriya 29, had taken up to weight lifting only after he joined with Commando Regiment of the Army as a regular soldier. Before that he knew nothing about competing in sport leave alone carrying the Lion flag at an international event. He did not have the slightest hint that such a heavy sport could bring him fame and fortune.
“I got to know about weight lifting only after I joined the Commando Regiment. My first coach was Sergeant Major Jayatilleke who directed me to the national coach RB Wickramasinghe”, recalled Jayasuriya.
He has now set his sights on competing for more medals for Sri Lanka.
In all Sri Lanka won two bronze medals and one silver medal in weight lifting at the Games. Indika Dissanayake won the silver medal while Hansani Gomes won the other bronze. For Dissanayake, an old boy of Kingwood College, the silver medal was the highest honour that he bagged. But he is no stranger to lifting silver after he achieved the feat on three previous occasions by winning it at the Commonwealth Weight Lifting Champions in 2009, 2013 and 2015.
“My biggest dream is to win a medal at the Olympics and I will be more concerned about qualifying for the 2020 Tokyo Olympics”, said Dissanayake. He is coached by RM Wickramasinghe who is considered a fine mentor.
Dissanayake won the silver medal in the 69kg weight category as he successfully lifted 297kgs in total (137 kgs in the Snatch and160 kgs in the Clean and Jerk.)
Hashini Gomes is the only female from Sri Lanka to win a medal in weight lifting at the Commonwealth Games. She bagged the bronze in the 48kg category by lifting a total of 155 kgs (70kg Snatch and 85kg in the Clean and Jerk).
“Being the first female to win a medal at the Commonwealth Games is such a huge honor for me and I want to upgrade my standard in the future in the bigger events as well and this will be a huge challenge for me”, said Gomes.
She won a silver medal at the South Asian Games in 2016 while securing a bronze medal at the Commonwealth Weight Lifting Championship in 2017. “My next target is winning an Asian Games medal along with qualifying for the 2020 Olympic Games,” said Gomes.
She hails from St. Mary’s College in Wadduwa and took to weight lifting at the age of 16 with all the encouragement from her family.
She remembers her first coach IP Nandasena and is now under the guidance of national coach RB Wickramasinghe who is the assistant director general at the Ministry of Sports.
The government paid Rs.4 million to the silver medal winner and Rs.3 million each to the bronze medal winners.