A pool of 36 swimmers have been drafted by the Sri Lanka Aquatic Sports Union to represent Sri Lanka at the 13th South Asian Games, scheduled to kick off on the 1st of December in Kathmandu, Nepal.
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With less than 4 months to go for the 13th South Asian Games, Sri Lankan athletes from across 27 different sports have been getting ready to earn their spot on the 605-member strong National pool for this year.
The Department of Sports Development will be providing SLASU with a stipend of Rs. 22,500 per swimmer, monthly, to conduct training sessions and to provide other necessary food and nutrition items to the athletes.
Getting things started, the Sri Lanka Aquatic Sports Union (SLASU) has named a 36-member provisional squad to follow a training routine ahead of the Games. According to the draft, 30 swimmers will train locally under the specific training routine targeting the SAG while 6 will continue with their training overseas, where they are currently stationed.
In the list, 15 Men and 15 Women will be locally trained while 4 Men and 2 Women will be the ones continuing their individual training overseas. In the list are Sri Lanka’s top dogs Matthew Abeysinghe, Kyle Abeysinghe, Cherantha De Silva and Kimiko Raheem.
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Trials for final squad selection will happen in the near future, the dates are yet to be confirmed.
| Boys | Girls | ||
| 01 | Dilanka Shehan | 01 | Hiruki De Silva |
| 02 | Amrith Perera | 02 | Sanali Nuhansa |
| 03 | C R Yogarathnam | 03 | Ramudi Samarakoon |
| 04 | P Arukshan | 04 | Shanali Perera |
| 05 | Revan Senarathna | 05 | Ganga Senevirathne |
| 06 | Santhush Mallawathanthri | 06 | Minagi Rupasinghe |
| 07 | Shevinda De Silva | 07 | Sandu Savindi |
| 08 | Sandev Senarathne | 08 | Nabhashie Perera |
| 09 | Dhinal Weerasinghe | 09 | Bhakthi Karunasena |
| 10 | Akeleshwar Premanand | 10 | Vinoli Kaluarachchi |
| 11 | R A Kumarajeewa | 11 | Akithmi Wasalathanthri |
| 12 | Akalanka Peiria | 12 | Thilijana Parakramasinghe |
| 13 | Manula Cooray | 13 | Dilrukshi Perera |
| 14 | Chathusa Dalpathadu | 14 | Shenali Weerawansa |
| 15 | Amjad Hassan | 15 | Oneli Yahampath |
| 16 | Matthew Abeysinghe | 16 | Kimiko Raheem |
| 17 | Kiran Jasinghe | 17 | Aniqah Ghaffoor |
| 18 | Kyle Abeysinghe | 18 | |
| 19 | Cherantha De Silva | 19 | |
Read More: 3 medals for Sri Lanka at Singapore Nationals
The Sri Lankan Swimming contingent at the 2016 South Asian Games was the best performing team for Sri Lanka, collecting 39 medals in total which included 12 Gold, 16 Silver and 11 Bronze medals.
Matthew Abeysinghe was Sri Lanka’s star performere, grabbing the most number of medals with 7 golds, 2 silvers and a bronze. The younger Raheem sister will return to swim for her nation after being the best performing female athlete at the previous Games, where she managed to grab 4 Gold medals and a Silver while breaking a South Asian Games record.
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