At Asian Rifle/Pistol C’ship: Young shooters pocket two medals

Sri Lanka claimed two medals, a silver and a bronze, at the Asian Rifle/Pistol Championship 2026, being held from 2-14 February in New Delhi, India. 

Sri Lanka claimed the silver medal in an Individual Event, while the bronze medal came from a Team Event. 

Umaya Kumarasiri, a senior student of Dharmapala Vidyalaya, Pannipitiya, won the silver medal of the 10m Air Rifle Women Youth event, finishing her event on 247.4 points. 

She became the only Sri Lankan shooter among three to reach the Top 8 and book her berth in the final after the qualifying rounds. 

Her compatriots, Dimandie Ratnayake and Thiveja Dissanayake failed to advance past the qualifier stage as Ojasvi Thakur of India, with 250.4 points, won the gold medal and Yasmin Achadiat of Indonesia, with 226.9 points, claimed the bronze. 

In Team Events, Sri Lanka, comprising Sinadi Kodikara, Reinya Ranasinghe and Fathima Nuha Rahuman, won the bronze medal of the 10m Air Pistol Women Junior Team event. 

Sinadi is a student of Visakha Vidyalaya, while Reinya is a promising shooter from Colombo International School, Kandy. 

The Sri Lanka Junior Women’s team grossed 1631-27x to finish third and claim the bronze medal, while India won the gold medal, followed by Kazakhstan, who settled in for the silver medal. 

The 12-day event was organised and conducted by the Asian Shooting Confederation, with National Rifle Association of India hosting the event at the Dr. Karni Singh Shooting Ranges in New Delhi. 

Out of many nations competing across Senior, Junior and Youth events under Men and Women categories in Individual, Mixed and Team events, Sri Lanka finished ninth in the overall medals tally among the 13 countries to claim podium finishes.

Source - The Morning