WRESTLING: Seven top wrestlers will represent the country at the 10th South Asian Games wrestling championships which will be worked off from August 24 to 26 at the Colombo University gymnasium.

The Sri Lanka wrestling team are fresh after a good training session in Thailand where they had the opportunity of fighting against some of the more experienced club wrestlers in Bangkok.

The seven wrestlers selected to participate in the South Asian Games are A.A.D.S. Kumara (Sri Lanka Navy), R.I. Liyanage (Sri Lanka Air Force), E.M.P.L. Priyankara (Sri Lanka Navy), L.W.W. Gunawardena (Sri Lanka Navy), M.S.C. Perera (Sri Lanka Navy), M.K.K. Fernando (Sri Lanka Navy) with Jagath Priyantha as the coach.

The Sri Lanka wrestling team of course did not fare well at the previous South Asian Games held in Islamabad in 2004 where they failed to win a single medal. But this time the team is more determined to make an impact after having got the much needed international exposure during the current year.

Sri Lanka will compete in six different weight categories ranging from 55 kg to 120 kg. The team which is presently at a residential coaching camp in Welimada have received all the encouragement and the much needed special training equipments which are vital for the success of the sport.

The Sri Lanka Wrestling Federation have also made arrangements to get down three O'Jump mattresses for training which were used at the 2004 Olympic Games and approved by the World Body.

Sri Lanka's medal prospects will be on R.I. Liyanage (60 kg), K.L.T. Sanjeewa and M.S.C. Perera (96 kg) who figured prominently at the recent Asian wrestling championships held in Kazakhastan where several top wrestlers from Japan, Korea, Thailand, China and Chinese Taipei participated.

There will be seven weight categories at this year's South Asian Games and competitors from Sri Lanka, India, Pakistan, Bangladesh and Afghanistan will fight each other for top honours.