Gayan wins Taekwondo bronze medal
Bernard Perera in Lisbon, Portugal
Sri Lanka gained another bronze medal when G. Gayan Kumara won his 80
kg category Taekwondo fight. Though they won a bronze medal, Sri Lanka
could not hold on to their fourth position in the medals table, as Macau
with a medal total of 7 got ahead of Sri Lanka.
The sole representative for Taekwondo from Sri Lanka proved that he
has reached the international class. He had a good performance right
through to the semi-finals after which he faced the toughest in the
world scene to go down fighting before losing to the ultimate gold
medallist from Brazil, Kintger Junior.
In the sandy beaches of Santomora it was not a perfect day for Sri
Lankan beach volleyballers. They failed to win a single game. But the
Lanka ‘B’ team made a big threat to one of the strongest teams in the
battle, Angola, losing 2-0.
In the first set it was Sri Lanka who stole the limelight taking the
winners to the maximum. They kept fighting and went on to win points
four times. The set ended with the score reading 27-25.
In the second set the Lankan pair could not put on the same pressure
on the Angolans but fought a gallant game to lose at 21-16. The ‘B’ team
comprising Mahesh Perera and Wasantha Ratnapala will confront their
senior team today where the winner will move to the quarter final.
Meanwhile the ‘A’ team too had to face the hot favourite for the gold
medal, Brazil, which they lost in straight sets 21-15, 21-15. The Lankan
duo Dhammika Silva and Pubudu Ekanayake maintained their class as one of
Asia’s best teams facing the giants in the world scene. Brazil the
world’s top ranked team.
Sri Lankan women’s ‘A’ team received a bye yesterday while the ‘B’
team lost to one of the strongest contenders Angola and lost in straight
sets 21-14, 21-12. The ‘A’ team will confront Angola in today’s
scheduled game. The ‘B’ team’s next game will be decided today after the
9th game.
Medals tally
G S B T
1. Brazil 29 18 17 64
2. Portugal 20 29 09 58
3. Angola 03 02 04 09
4. Macau 01 03 03 07
5. Sri Lanka 01 00 04 05
6. India 01 00 03 04
7. Mozambique 00 01 02 03
8. Cape Verde 00 00 04 04 |
