Shooters of the eight-member strong Sri Lanka National Shooting team, comprising five Army personnel became world champions in Small Bore Light Rifle and Small Bore Silhouette Rifle categories in the International Metallic Silhouette Shooting Union (IMSSU) World Championship 2016, concluded on Saturday in South Africa.
Captain P.K.J.S. Gayanga of the Army secured 3 Gold Medals and became the world’s no, 1 under three specific categories: Small Bore Light (Gold Medal), Small Bore Silhouette (Gold Medal) and Small Bore Light Rifle – Open Sight (Gold Medal).
In addition, Sri Lanka won the Bronze Medal in the Big Bore Rifle category.
Lieutenant General Crishanthe de Silva, Commander of the Army expressed his pleasure and conveyed his best wishes to the team on learning about their feat.
Over 150 shooters representing eight countries competed in the World Championship and Sri Lanka overall won 38 Medals (Gold, Silver & Bronze).
The victorious team, Brigadier D.S.D Welikala, Major C.S Ratnayake, Captain P.K.J.S Gayanga, Warrant Officer I.N Weerasinghe, Corporal K.P Gunawardena, Anil Gunawardene (Magnum SSC), W.M.S Manikdiwela (Hill Country SSC) and Master Ishara Abeyasuriya (Magnum SSC) with their laurels arrived at the Colombo International Airport yesterday to a rousing welcome, organized by the National Rifle Association of Sri Lanka (NRASL).
S.E.R.T.M.S.P Bandara, Director General Sports, Ministry of Sports and Major General Sudantha Ranasinghe, President NRASL, Brigadier N.D.S.P Niwunhella, Chairman, Sri Lanka Army Small Arms Association, Brigadier Pooraka Seneviratne, Vice President, NRASL and several other Ministry officials were at the airport to receive and congratulate them on their achievements.