Tuesday 12th August, 2008 15

Vidanage keeps Lion flag flying Asoka Gunathilaka were placed second and third in yes- reporting from Beijing terday’s competition. Kamal Bahadur Adikari of Nepal Weight lifter Chinthana Vidanage who was the only other weight lifter gave life to a rather dejected Sri in that category from South Asia Lanka team who had suffered three lifted a weight of 268 kgs to be defeats in two days as he won the placed sixth in Group ‘C’. Adikari first place in Group C of the 69 Kg who won the gold medal at the 10th South Asian Games held in weight category at the Weight Sri Lanka’s Chinthana Vidanage holds up 160 kilograms in the clean Colombo has bettered his personal Lifting Championship of the Beijing and jerk of Group C of the men’s 69 kilogram category of the best. Olympics yesterday. weightlifting competition at the Beijing 2008 Olympics in Beijing, Vidanage, only the third lifter to Vidanage, who was dreaming of the Olympics for two years Monday, Aug. 11, 2008. Vidanage finished first in his group. an Olympics from Sri Lanka record- will take place today and the best although intended to finish among Wickramasinghe has come here,” Polonnaruwa entered the Olympic ed the historic feat when he lifted lifters (for medals), will be adjudged the best ten lifters said that there said Vidanage. competition on a wild card. It was a an aggregate weight of 293 kgs. according to the aggregate of could be a difference if fortune “I didn’t get the required power notable feat by the wildcard entrant Since neither S. M. Silva at the weights lifted. favours him. to the upper part of the body. I as he beat formidable lifters from Los Angeles (1984) nor Asela Vidanage lifted a weight of 128 “I trained only for a month. Kisal thought I would get injured and Canada, Brazil and New Zealand. Vijewickrama at Barcelona could kgs in his third attempt in the Hayan of Pakistan is training me. gave it up half way,” said Vidanage Thirty weight lifters are taking win their respective Group stages, snatch and lifted a weight of 162 kgs He is sending me the training sched- when asked why he gave up the part in the competition in the 69kg Vidanage’s feat will go down in his- in the clean and jerk in his second uled through email. My first coach event in the clean and jerk event. category and and Guseng Sang of tory as the highest mark so far attempt at the Beijing University at Polonnaruwa was Kumudu Chinthana Vidanage, who studied who lifted a weight of 347.5 achieved by a Sri Lankan at an Indoor Stadium yesterday. Kumara. But the national coach of at Sevamuktha Kandaura Vidyalaya kgs to win the Gold at the Olympics. Canada’s Luner Granier (293kgs) the Ministry of Sports R. B. and later at Central College event is not taking part this time. The Group A and B competitions and Brazil’s Velison Silva (290 kgs)

India’s Bindra wins gold in 10-meter air rifle

India’s poses for a photo after the men’s 10m air rifle final at Shooting Range Hall at the Beijing 2008 Olympics in Beijing, Monday, Aug. 11, 2008. Bindra won the gold medal. (AP Photo/Sergey Ponomarev)

BEIJING (AP) - Abhinav Bindra won the gold medal in the 10-meter air rifle on Monday, giving India its first medal of the Olympics. The 2006 world champion entered the final in third place but overtook China’s Zhu Qinan and Finland’s Henri Hakkinen by scor- ing 104.5 points for the title. Bindra finished with 700.5 points, to edge out Zhu who had 699.7 points for the silver. Zhu won the gold medal in 2004. Hakkinen got the bronze with 699.4. Zhu’s second place finish gives the Chinese three medals in the shooting competition after Guo Wenjun won the women’s 10-meter air pistol and Pang Wei took the men’s.