Sri Lanka’s artistic gymnast Gehani de Silva became the second Sri Lankan to qualify for the 2021 Tokyo Olympic Games, The Olympic Website states.
Gehani had the distinction to be secured of her slot as number one in the Asian Continental quota ahead of India’s Pranati Nayak, the website stated.
“Pranati Nayak, thus, became the second reserve behind Milka Gehani of Sri Lanka - to secure the quota from Asia after the 9th Senior Asian Championships, scheduled to run from May 29-June 1 in Hangzhou, was called off due to Covid-19 pandemic,” stated the website.
The FIG (International Gymnastics Federation) however, is likely to confirm the Olympic berth only in June.
Milka, the 18-year-old gymnast who hails from Piliyandala, trained under former national champion turned coach Ranjana Tharanga and displayed glimpses of what she would go on to become at this young age.
She first schooled at Piliyandala Somawiri Chandrasiri College and then enrolled at Piliyandala Central before being absorbed by Methodist College in Colombo.
She then received an IOC funded scholarship to train in Japan to pursue her dream in 2019 and is still training there.
She has represented Sri Lanka in several international competitions proving that she will be the best in the business.
She was Junior National Champion from 2011 (when she was just eight year old up to 2014) and then finished sixth in the Junior Commonwealth Games in 2016. She was National Champion in 2017 and 2018.
She then finished within the top eight in the Asian Championship held in Indonesia in 2018 becoming the first Sri Lankan to achieve this feat while representing Sri Lanka in the Youth Olympic Games 2018 setting an Area record.