A team of Sri Lankan age group artistic swimmers succeeded in a medal haul of three gold, three silver and a bronze medal at the Singapore Open Artistic Swimming Championships 2024 concluded recently.
The junior and open category swimmers showed their maturity from previous exposure in performing to their fullest potential in the three-day event at the OCBC Aquatic Centre in Singapore held from 22nd to 24thNovember.
Piyushi Kulasekera opened the medal run with her performance in the Open Technical Solo event with 142.0567 points to earn a silver medal. This was followed by Nischka Nanyakkara scoring 187.4317 points to emerge ahead of her competition to win gold in the Junior Technical Solo event along with Manekha Gomez scoring 174.8350 points to emerge in third place. Nischka Nanyakkara was also placed first in the Junior Solo Free Routine competition with 130.4875 points.
The other medals were won in the open category when Shasheni Fernando was placed second in her Solo Free Routine event followed by the Open Duet comprising Lourdi Perera and Jithmi Perera who won a gold and silver medal in the Duet Free and Duet Technical routine events respectively.
“More than the medals this participation is about whether the swimmers have performed their personal best gaining experience from previous international participations. We were successful in this aspect since all of the medalists have learned what it takes to compete amongst regional competitors having taken part in the same competition last year and the Asian Age Championships this year. We also hope the succeeding set of youth and the younger age group swimmers in the team gained the necessary exposure to develop their outlook of this competitive sport”, said Akhry Ameer, Team Manager of the performances.
Sri Lanka was also featured in the judging panels at the competition with Akhry Ameer and Imashi Gamage as judges and Dehara Katipearachchi as a Technical Controller officiating with the several new rules that has been transforming the sport of Artistic Swimming since the Covid pandemic.
The other athletes in the team were Tanalia Rekawa, Kiyara Gunawardane, Leanna Perera, Saheli Kulasekera, Andrea Thirukumar, Methaya Sundararaj, Enuki Gunatilaka, and Lisali Karunanayake.
The team was supported by Nayana Katipearachchi as Head Coach and Prabhashi Navaratne as Assistant Coach and Madhuka Fernando as Lady Chaperone. The 14 Sri Lankan athletes competed across all of the age groups amongst several clubs in Singapore and other teams from Indonesia, China, Chinese Taipei and Philippines.
